To Save the Future
by RenegadeAngel547
Summary: In the future, there is no longer a Fairy Tail, and no longer any hope... but a group has been sent back in time to save the amazing guild before it's too late. However, no one expects it to be their own children from the future! Kids are from favorite shippings! NaLu, GaLe, Gruvia, Jerza, and more! Lemony, so beware! Enjoy!
1. Chapter 1

**Finally fixed all the bugs I hope! This is my first Fanfiction! I do not own Fairy tail or any of the characters. They are Hiro Mashima's. Enjoy**

"Natsu!" I screamed furiously at the mage and cat duo. Once again they'd managed to sneak into my apartment while I was out. This was the fifth time this week, and it was the last! They were about to learn a serious lesson about personal space and privacy! I dropped my bags by the door and stormed over to the bed, preparing myself to fight the dragon slayer to the death over my apartment.

"Lushi…" mumbled Natsu sleepily into the pillow, "welcome home…" He quickly fell back to sleep with a light snore. I sighed and looked from the pinkette to the blue cat snuggled into his back. I had to admit, they were cute at times when they weren't being noisy or destroying towns, but I guess that was part of the "Natsu" charm.

Deciding to leave them be for now, I retrieved my groceries by the door and proceeded to the kitchen. I put the groceries away and started a quick meal. Natsu loved spicy foods, so I made sure to make something extra hot for his tastes. A light blush crept onto my cheeks whenever I thought of him. A few years ago, I probably would not have even allowed the dragon slayer into my house, and now here I was letting him sleep in my bed while I made him dinner. So many feelings have changed since then…and I think that maybe, I kind of like—

"Lucy, made me fish!" Happy shouted merrily. I jumped and screamed in surprise as I spotted the sneaky culprits in the door way. Natsu laughed at this and scratched his abs as he took a seat at the table.

"I'm starving! Thanks Luce!" Happy flew to take a seat beside him and dove greedily into the fish. I smiled at the two. "Maybe some things haven't changed that much."

"Natsu! Lucy is being weird and talking to herself again!" Happy said between bites of his fish.

"Shut it cat!" I spat, and placed mine and Natsu's plates on the table. I struck a match and set his on fire. It took me a few months to get the hang of Mira's special dish for him, but it was worth it to make him smile. Natsu crooned about it being his favorite and dug in. I almost started into mine, when Natsu suddenly stopped and stared at me. "Wh-what is it?" He leaned towards me until he was only inches away. A wild blush heated my face, and I tried to lean away but he stopped me. His rough hands pulled me closer, and he nuzzled into my neck. A small pleasurable moan escaped before I could stop it. Then Natsu…sniffed me? What the hell?

He released me immediately and shot to his feet, sniffing the air urgently. "Something isn't right," he announced.

I stood up shakily and held onto Happy who was starting to tremble in fear like I was. Natsu was serious, and that always meant trouble. "What's wrong?"

"Maybe the house is haunted and Natsu can smell the ghost," Happy said, spooking both of us. However, Natsu shook his head and started to argue when the lights black out. I screeched and squeezed Happy tighter. "Ca…n't….brea…th…"

I ignored the cat as Natsu lit his hands on fire and ran through the doorway to the bedroom. The house really is haunted! I thought to myself as I followed quietly. The lights began to flicker crazily like a strobe light, and I only briefly caught Natsu starting to fight a stranger in a black robe when they shut back off. Their hands were lit like Natsu's and fought with just as much force and speed. Happy squirmed in my grip uncomfortably, and I loosened my hold on him so he could breathe again. The fire from both Natsu and the stranger illuminated the bedroom enough for us to watch the fight. Natsu managed to grab the stranger, but they pushed their feet against the floor and used the fire as a burst of momentum to buck him off. He flew back towards me. I screamed as I realized we were about to crash, and Happy wiggled out of my arms just as we collided. The lights flickered back on, and I moaned in pain into Natsu's back. Everything hurt, but he seemed unfazed. "Thanks for catching me, Luce."

"N-no problem," I muttered as he helped me to my feet. I rubbed the back of my head, and looked at the stranger still standing in the middle of the room. They extinguished the fire on their hands, and stood staring from underneath the hood. It was hard to make out who it was, but from the size and proportions, I could only assume it was a small girl. I looked around her and tears welled up in my eyes. "My apartment…"

Natsu stood his ground in front of me, hands still burning. "Who are you?" That's when I noticed the breeze coming through the window. They had managed to sneak through it, just like Natsu always did. Then a shiver went down my spine…fire magic, odd Natsu habits…who was this person?

Natsu lifted his hands to punch the stranger, but she lifted her hands and pleaded, "Wait! Wait! It's me!" The voice was that of a small girl's, and Natsu immediately stopped. His flames exhausted and he stared at her in confusion.

Then he began sniffing the air again and got closer to her. "Why do you smell like—" he started.

"I know. You tell me all the time," the stranger responded, and she pulled back her hood. Her hair was a bright pink, almost salmon, the same shade as Natsu's, but her eyes were a deep chocolate brown which were the same shade I saw every time I looked in the mirror. "Or at least you will. My name is Nashi, and I've been looking for you, Mama and Papa."

"Eh?" Natsu and I gasped at the same time.

"They liiiiiikkke each other," Happy inputted from under the bed.


	2. Chapter 2

**Thanks guys for reading! Once again, I do not own the characters! Sorry about not updating recently, but I'll try to be quicker in the future. Hope you enjoy!**

"Aww! Lucy-san, she's a perfect angel," Mira cooed over the mini-pinkette along with most of the rest of Fairy tail. Who knew so many of them were NaLu shippers? I didn't even know that was a thing until we had arrived about an hour ago.

I didn't want to take her to the guild, but she was just as adamant about going as her father. If I thought refusing Natsu was difficult, this cherubic kid was like trying to win against Erza in a one-on-one sword fight… I was especially screwed when she gave me the Natsu smile. The perfect melt-your-heart-and-sell-your-soul smile that made me fall in love with the—did I just say love? I definitely didn't mean love! Ugh! We were nakama anyways! I can't fall in love—

"Mama," Nashi called me away from my thoughts. "Are you okay?"

I smiled. It's still awkward believing that I had a kid, especially with Natsu. But who could resist those big brown eyes and sweet face? I mean she obviously got her good looks and charm from the best parent. "Yes, Nashi."

She smiled a signature Natsu smiled, and laughed. "Well then stop being a weirdo."

The entire guild erupted into laughter except me who was deadpanned from the comment. She may have gotten her beauty from me, but she inherited her manners from her other parent. Said culprit ruffled her hair a little before he slung his arm around her shoulders. She was only fifteen and came up to his chin height already.

"Who knew that having a kid would be so much fun!" Natsu exclaimed, making the guild roll in a new bout of laughter I all but melted into the stool at the bar and hid my reddening face in my hands. Nashi took this chance to attack Natsu—another trait from her dad, and honestly, was there any other good traits from me?—and they started fighting with blazing balls of fire. Gray tried to get them to settle down, but Nashi called him an ice-cake and Natsu ambushed him from behind. He kicked the ice mage into Elfman, who yelled that fights were "Man!" and start brawling. Gajeel could never resist a fight, and Erza jumped in to try to settle everyone down, not realizing she was making it worse. Natsu and Nashi fought together as the perfect team and were unstoppable. They took down everyone and started running in circles victoriously, pumping their fiery fists in the air.

Levy took a seat beside me at the bar and giggled at the scene, while Cana sat on the counter beside us with keg at her side. We enjoyed watching the fight, and as I watched the two dance like a crazy idiot and his mini version, I couldn't stop the smile from forming. "Why didn't you tell us you were in love with Natsu, Lu-chan?" Levy asked innocently, and I blushed instantly.

"Not just that," Cana inputted, "but when did you and that dense thing have sex?" I tried not to look at her while my face burned so much. It proved I was too innocent to be talking about such dirty things. However, it didn't get past her. "I forgot you've never had a boyfriend before," she laughed. "Now you're running around sleeping with Natsu! Hmm…I wonder if he really is a dragon in bed. Well, is he Lucy?"

I opened my mouth to respond, but suddenly the lights started to flicker crazily just before they blacked out. Daylight poured through the windows so it was not too difficult to see, but it was clear and the electricity shouldn't be acting strange. Nashi backed towards the bar, her arms hugging herself tightly. "Oh no," she whispered frighteningly. "They found me."

I reached for her, and drew her into my arms. She hugged my waist and buried her face into my shoulder. "Who?" I asked her. "Who's coming after you?"

She only shook her head and pulled away. The lights started to flicker again, and she whimpered as she hid behind me. Maybe we shared another trait after all. The lights returned to normal, but the atmosphere in the guild was heavy. Everyone was on their feet, magic ready and silent. My eyes met Natsu's across the guild, and we nodded. No matter what, we would not allow anyone to hurt our daughter. We would fight until the very end to keep her safe. That was the way of Fairy Tail.

The doors to the guild exploded open, and Fairy tail readied for an attack. However, what happened next would forever change the guild.

"Gi-hee," chuckled the one who opened the guild doors. The boy stood up tall and looked around with a confident smirk. He crossed his arms as another boy who was identical to him strode in beside him. Their red eyes singled in on the iron dragon slayer. "What's up bitches?" they cackled together. The boys even wore identical outfits: black boots, dark grey pants, and black sleeveless vests. They only differentiated with their hair and the bandanna they had tied around their arms. They both has spikey hair, but one had blue hair with black tips and an orange bandanna while the other had black hair and blue tips and a gray bandana. Those head bands were the exact ones that a certain pair of mages were wearing today…

All eyes fell onto Levy and Gajeel who looked at the boys with total and utter confusion and a bit of…awe. This is how Natsu and I must have looked last night. I leaned towards the script mage and whispered, "You liiiiiiiiike each other." Levi blushed and hid her face as I had earlier. I laughed wickedly. Now I knew why Happy always did it.

The twins started chuckling at their faces. "Look Gale," the bluenette pointed at Gajeel. "Guess Pops hasn't confessed yet."

Gale smiled evilly. "Do you think we ruined the surprise, Leevi?" he inquired sarcastically. His eyes scanned the crowd until they found Levy, and his grin only become more sardonic when he noticed her distress. "Oops." The guild still stood gawking at the pair, and the boys looked at each other, displeased with the lack of enthusiasm. "Man, this time travel crap is so over-rated."

"Yeah, who cares about all this bull shit any—"

"Wait!" Gale stopped his brother and narrowed his eyes. "Is that...Wendy?"

Leevi leaned forward with his hand over his eyes. When Wendy shrieked and hid behind the master, the twins started laughing. "Man she's so tiny. Hey Gale, I bet we could beat her up finally."

"You're right," Gale agreed, and they began to stalk towards the sky dragon. Romeo jumped in their path, his fists burning. This only made the twins laugh. "Oh look. Romeo protecting his poor Juliet."

"You're so puny, kid," Leevi agreed. His arm turned into a thick iron rod. "You better step down kid. We are used to brawling you in the future and losing, but we'll make damn sure that you never fight us again."

"Leevi!" shouted a terrifying voice from behind the boys. They flinched in fear and ran underneath a table.

"Oh hell!" Leevi exclaimed changing his arm back.

"She found us!" Gale screamed.

A girl with long, elegant red hair covering her right eye entered the door way, her hands on her hips, and armor wrapped tight around her small body. She looked for the twins and narrowed her eyes in agitation when she found them. She strode angrily towards them and lifted the table with a single hand. The boys held onto each other and screamed in fear when they realized they were caught. The girl tossed the table, ignoring the fact that she chunked it onto fellow guild members.

"What did I tell you about staying together?" she yelled, picking them up by their ears. They whimpered in pain and murmured apologies. She sighed heavily and released them. "Now we have to infiltrate the guild and search for—" She looked around her, and it suddenly donned on her where she was. "Oh. Well, I guess it couldn't be helped." She flipped her hair back over her shoulder, revealing the tattoo that no doubt identical to the one her father wore. She placed a fist over her heart and announced proudly, "My name is Scarlet Fernandes, and I'm here for Nashi Dragneel."

Nashi hugged my waist from behind and made a small shriek. "She's scary…" she muttered into my back.

Scarlet turned towards the sound and drew a sword using requip magic. "Nashi. It's time to return. We must not damage the past anymore."

"No!" she shouted and stepped beside me without releasing her arms around me. "It's been ten years since I've seen my parents. Ten! If our plan doesn't work than this is the last chance that we will ever be with them again. Don't you even want to have at least a few good memories?"

Scarlet faltered, and her eyes drifted towards the beautiful dumbfounded red haired mage standing in the center of the guild hall. When their gazes met, she quickly tore away from it. "That's enough! Say no more. We will alter the past and save the future, but not like this."

Nashi started to argue, but someone else walked through the doors to speak for her. "Leave her alone, Scar." I almost keeled over at the sight. It was as if I was seeing another Gray only with hair as light as Juvia's. He kept a cool demeanor as he sauntered towards Nashi. When he was only a few feet away, he winked at her and turned to face Scarlet. "None of us have seen our parents in a long time, and it's scarred us in more ways than one." At this, Scarlet shifted uneasily and lowered her gaze to the floor. "Nashi's right. If the twins' plan doesn't work out, this may be the last time we'll ever be with them. We should at least enjoy the time we have while it's here."

Scarlet inhaled deeply, and finally let her sword disappear. She turned her back to the guild and strode out the doors. "Whatever," she retorted shortly. "I'll get the others."

The blue haired boy sighed contently and shot a sidelong look at Gray. "It's good to see you old man." He took off his coat and tossed it onto the floor. It was obvious Gray had a large influence on the kid.

Juvia crept around a table and threw her arms around Gray, and the ice mage staggered from the sudden ambush. "Oh, Juvia's so glad to have a son as cool as Gray-sama and with Gray-sama! When's our honeymoon?"

I chuckled slightly at her odd antics, and then looked from the kid to Nashi. She refused to let go, and I was fine with it, but she wore a sour expression on her face. "Well," I noted, "he does seem to be exactly like his father."

"Yes," she agreed. "But there's one trait Jay doesn't share…"

Suddenly, the kid attacked Nashi. He leaped through the air and managed to pull us apart. They landed on the ground with him latched around her. "Aww," he crooned. "Naaaaashiiii! You left me all alone, and I had to travel with the team of weirdoes without you! Where were you all this time? Did you miss me? I missed you all the time! I never stopped thinking about you! We should get married Nashi! When's our honeymoon?"

A fire punch exploded across his jaw, and Nashi shouted, "Get off of me you ice freak!" Her entire body was lit, and she completely lost her cute composure. When she was angry, she was every bit as frightening as dragon as Natsu was.

However, it couldn't stop the mini Gray/Juvia from trying. "Aww… Naaaaashiiiii!" he rubbed his swollen face. "I still love you!"

"Put some clothes on first dumb ass!" Nashi continued to roar.

Seeing his daughter being hit on, Natsu confronted Gray. "You even taught your son weird stripping habits, you damn exhibitionist!"

"It's not my fault! I didn't even know I had a son so cool down pyro!" Gray shouted back, ice collecting around his hands.

Natsu lit his hands, itching for round two today, and replied, "Oh, I'm only getting fired up!"

"Yeah! Fighting is WOMAN!"

The guild froze including the fire and ice mages. They looked towards the door where a giant girl with long green hair stood. Her silver eyes searched hungrily for a fight, and she was only too eager to battle. Elfman and Evergreen shot panicked gazes at each other. Levy had whispered a rumor to me about their secret affair a few years ago. I guess it was definitely out now.

A boy with cropped brown hair and eyes walked in beside her, a baby in his arms. He scoffed her and handed her the swaddle. "Next time Ever, try remembering your cousin," he complained and strode further into the guild hall towards the younger ice mage.

Mira gasped from behind us. "Cousin? Does that mean…" she wondered. Ever stormed over to the bar and straight to the takeover mage. As they approached, I got a closer look at the babe in her arms. She had light blonde hair, so bright it was almost silver. Ever handed her to Mira and took off to look for a brawl even though everyone else was watching the precious scene unfold. Mira smiled gently at the baby girl and kissed her forehead. The baby cooed happily.

Cana leaned closer and laughed. "Wow! Who's the lucky fellow, Mira?" she jested. She started to play with the baby's hands, and when it took Cana's finger, the girl jolted her with a powerful current of electricity. Cana yelped and jumped away from the smiling takeover mage/Laxus demon.

"Her name is Jane," Nashi explained. "She's probably going to be the most powerful mage among us when she gets older."

"No way!" the twins shouted in unison.

"I'm going to be the most powerful mage in Fairy Tail!" Gale yelled.

Leevi pushed him to the ground and pointed at himself. "No, I am!"

Gale bolted to his feet and shoved Leevi. "You just have to copy everything I do don't you?"

"What? It was my idea! You just said it first!"

"That means you copied me!"

"Not if you would have given me a second to say it!"

"If I punch you will you need a second to think about that too?"

Leevi jumped onto Gale, and they started to brawl. Nashi shook her head, and then noticed Jay trying to propose to her. She growled and began wailing on him. Finally satisfied that a fight began, Ever jumped in. Scarlet returned and noticed her team tearing each other apart and tried to separate them, but only managed to make it worse. Cane tried to sit the fight out, but Ever called him a woman so he joined to prove his manhood.

Watching the children fight felt nostalgic in an odd way. It was like watching brawls within the guild every day since I first joined. To see our children still upholding even the craziest of traditions brought a light smile on my face. Looking around, I found I wasn't alone. The guild had been oddly quiet since the youngsters arrived, and it still was, but only because we knew the very heart of Fairy Tail was still going strong even years from now. It was weird thinking of the couples… Levy and Gajeel, Gray and Juvia, Mirajane and Laxus, Elfman and Evergreen, Erza and Jellal, and even Natsu and I…

Then again, it wasn't weird. Everything just seemed to fit perfectly together. My eyes swept the guild, and I found him. His onyx eyes gazing hotly back into mine, and that smile—his smile—was just as it should be.


	3. Chapter 3

**Lucy's POV**

The hour was late and most of Fairy Tail had dispersed. There was the issue of the kids appearing that had made it difficult to decide where they should stay. Some like Natsu and I, had decided to take our child home _together_, while others took their children home separately. Though the child complained at first, they eventually came to an understanding that you couldn't force this type of arrangement on someone who was not ready. I was in agreement, but Natsu insisted we be together, especially after her argument with Scarlet. The Exceeds decided it was best to stick with Wendy for a few nights while the parents dealt with the kids.

_Ten years_… She hasn't seen us in ten years? I wonder what she had meant. Had we disappeared on a mission without telling her, and never come back like at Tenrou Island? Or was it something worse…? Whenever she had mentioned it, it instantly reminded me of Natsu and Igneel. His foster father had disappeared on him as a child, and he has been searching ever since. It had hurt Natsu to be abandoned, and even now, he still searched for his missing dragon parent. Just like Wendy and Gajeel.

We were on the way to my apartment, and Natsu was carrying Nashi on his shoulders. She was only about four years younger than him, but he carried her like she weighed nothing. He ran in circles and jumped onto discarded boxes on the street, causing her to scream and laugh in excitement. He was taking this transition from single teenager to parent easily and was just as thrilled as Nashi. Ever since she arrived, I've never seen him frown. He just always had the same smile on his face.

Watching them made my heart ache and a blush creep onto my cheeks. I was smiling too before I even knew it. My mother had died when I was young, and my father…well he was not much of a parent when she died. Looking at Nashi, I could only guess the type of pain she had went through after not seeing her parents for ten years. Although I was slightly still uncomfortable with knowing that Natsu and I had a child, I would do anything I could to stop that pain. No one should suffer without parents the way Natsu and I both had. I would be the best mother I could to Nashi, and Natsu…well he already had our child enraptured in bliss.

We arrived shortly to my apartment, and we walked in. I opened my door dramatically and swung my arms out like the beautiful women on Jeopardy Lacrima. However, when I went to let them in, I realized no one was behind me. "Wh-what?" I looked left and right, but they were nowhere to be found. "Where are they?"

"Hey mama, what are you looking for?" Nashi asked behind me. I turned around into my apartment and saw her and Natsu standing in my window sill. Of course they had to take the damn window. I slammed the door, slightly irritable that I made a big show of welcoming them into my home for nothing. "What's for dinner? I'm starved!"

"Do you eat fire chicken?" Natsu asked. He rubbed his stomach and started salivating at the idea of his favorite dish.

"Of course! Mama and Mira used to make it for me all the time!"

_Used to make it?_ I wondered again at the past tense, but decided to ignore it for now.

"It's one of my specialties that I just recently perfected," I admitted and started for the kitchen. I threw my purse onto the couch, and Natsu and Nashi followed.

"Luce always makes amazing food, but there's not much she can't do," Natsu told her. I turned around and smiled at my best friend. He was usually not this open about how he felt, and it was nice to know he thought that about me. "Except using sex appeal to distract guys in battle. That never seems to work."

Nashi laughed, and I rolled my eyes and started their dinner. Of course, he had to ruin the one sweet moment he had. I pulled the chicken out of the fridge, grabbed the hottest spices from my cabinet, and went to begin, when Nashi suddenly bumped into my arm. "I want to help, Mama!"

"Sure," I replied happily.

**Natsu's POV**

Nashi's powers still weren't completely controlled, but I had to give her credit, she was doing better handling fire dragon slayer magic at her age than I was. After all, there was a reason Happy and I lived a few miles outside town. As she was helping Lucy, she could barely control her excitement, and she kept setting a couple things on fire. Such as the chicken, and the stove, and the spices, and the dish towels, and Lucy. Actually, there wasn't much she wasn't burning. All of it made me laugh and remember my earlier days in the guild when I used to burn everything I touched. That's what started off my fights with Gray in the first place. Damn stripper.

I had to give Lucy credit though. She never gave up and decided to cook it herself. I suppose somewhere down the road between freaking out about us having a kid and being together and where we are now, she had realized the same thing I had. We grew up basically without a family, and we weren't about to let that happen to our daughter.

_Our daughter_. I sighed happily. Guess I finally got the courage in the future to confess to the blonde. Fighting demons? No problem. Destroying towns? I had that covered. Telling my best friend that I was in love with her? I couldn't even say how beautiful she was for Mavis's sake. I tried once to kiss her though. When Bisca and Alzack left Asuka with the guild, I made a deal with the kid that I would do anything she said for a day if she promised to make me kiss Lucy at the most opportune time. She had agreed, and we played it off like she had won a shooting contest against me. I obeyed her every demand, and when she told me to kiss Luce, I tried, but at the last second, she pushed Happy in the way. _That _was embarrassing to say the least.

Everyone thought I was the dense one, but it was actually Lucy who denied her own feelings. Usually I just let her be and wouldn't push her into anything, but now seeing Nashi, and knowing that somehow something had worked out between us, I could no longer wait. I had to have courage, and I would finally do it. I just hope she would feel the same…

"Yes!" Lucy yelled, pulling me back from my thoughts.

"Huh?" I asked, watching her and Nashi. Lucy held up the dinner, and Nashi had set it on fire, only this time it was on purpose. Lucy set it a plate of fire chicken in front of me, and my stomach rumbled. "Food!" I shouted excitedly back. "Thanks Luce and Nashi!" She blushed and gave a small smile while Nash sat down across from me, fork and knife ready to dig in.

Lucy waved her hands at us. "You two eat. I'm not that hungry. I'll go take a bath instead," she said. "Do you mind washing the dishes when you're finished though?"

"Aye!" Nashi and I said and unison, and we dove into the delicious chicken.

**Lucy's POV**

The bath was heavenly and rightly needed. Even though I was only cleaning my skin, I always felt like I could wash away my worries as well. It gave me time to think and relax in privacy. Now that two more people would be staying with me for a little while, everything was going to change, and I only wanted just one moment to myself so that I could think.

When I was done, I grabbed a towel to dry myself off and wrapped it around my hair. I quickly realized then that I had not grabbed a fresh set of clothes. Silently cursing myself, I unwrapped the towel from my hair and pulled it tightly around my body instead. I tiptoed to the door and quietly opened it. The apartment was dark, but I could just make out the lump sleeping in my bed. I sighed gratefully that the fire mages were asleep and crept to my drawers to retrieve clothes. I heard movement in the bed and jumped, but it was only them rolling around.

I walked silently back to the bathroom, scared to even breathe. If they woke up and saw me like this, I'd be screwed. I would be the worse, perverted parent ever. Thankfully, they never woke, and I shut the door to the bathroom without any complications. "Finally," I breathed and pulled the towel off. I sat the clothes on the cabinet beside the door.

"Umm, not that I'm complaining, but you should probably put clothes on," said a voice from the bath. I shrieked and tried to cover myself when I noticed Natsu sitting in the tub. "I saw you walk out, and I was about to bathe when you walked in." He stood up, revealing his lack of clothes. I shrieked again, and tried hiding my eyes with my hands, but my damn curiosity got the better of me, and I caught myself peeking between my fingers.

Even I had to admit that I had my own fantasies, and a few did include the dragon slayer. I thought they were only dirty thoughts and tried to ignore them, but I always wondered what he would look like completely exposed. I had always thought since the rest of him was firmly built, that everything down there would be as well. Now I knew I was right. No wonder he was confident about everything, he had every right to be.

Standing here looking at him like this made my heart suddenly soar, and I felt heat building in my lower body. I guess me standing her without clothes had an impact on him as well because he started to grow before my eyes. I uttered a rush apology and started dressing like he had mentioned earlier. He grabbed a towel and covered himself, but he couldn't hide the growth poking through the towel. When I was fully clothed again, I turned to look at him, and noticed the blush on his cheeks. He was staring at the corner of the bathroom, trying as hard as he could not to peer down at me, and I knew he was trying to be a gentlemen and a rather awkward situation.

I coughed to let him know I done. His eyes grazed over my body, and I felt exposed all over again. He finally looked into my eyes, and I could tell he was waging some type of internal battle.

"So," I managed, looking for a change of subject, "y-you guys went to sleep right after dinner I take it." I just needed to talk about anything right now. Anything. Not how the way he was looking at me made me want to melt into his arms, or how I wanted to suddenly sate my curiosity and see how his body felt everywhere, or what his lips would feel like… I needed to say something, except what I really wanted. I couldn't tell him about the sudden effect he had on me. He probably didn't even feel the same, and we were friends! Partners! We were a team! I couldn't just tell him that I—

"Lucy," Natsu growled deeply, snatching my attention back to him. He took a step closer to me, breaking the small distance that felt like miles before. I could feel the heat radiating off of him, hear his loud heart beat that was just as erratic as my own. He brushed the back of his hand down my cheek, and I closed my eyes as I leaned into his touch. He caught my chin and made me look up into his onyx eyes. They poured warmly into mine, and I could see the raw emotion he always kept hidden from everyone. I could see his strength, his worries, his conflicts, his fear, and his…love. His eyes flickered down to my lips, and he gulped audibly. He was nervous and scared, something very unlike him. Then suddenly, his eyes broke, and he released me and took a step away. "I'm sorry. I-I don't…" He clenched his jaw in frustration and burst through the bathroom door, leaving me alone and confused as I stared into the darkness after him.

* * *

**Aww! So close Natsu! You could have had her haha sorry about that teaser everyone! Maybe next time, Natsu will have the courage! Next chapters will be longer, I promise, and I'll be jumping around from the kid's POV soon! **


	4. Chapter 4

**Gray's POV**

Damn kid.

He was too much like me, and honestly, it freaked me out. I wanted to deny it when I first saw him, because in my mind, it was too ridiculous to think Juvia and I actually stayed together this long to have one. True, we were together, but we made a deal to keep our affair a secret. Juvia of course, couldn't help but ogle at me every second of every day. I tried to ignore her when we first met, but she was beautiful. A little over bearing, but she was beautiful nonetheless. _And mine_.

We have been dating in secret for a year now. Sometimes I would slip up and let my feelings show, and Juvia would notice immediately and start asking about our honeymoon or how many kids we'd have. I didn't want the guild to know about us. Not yet anyways, but now the kid was here and whatever plans I had had were now blown.

At least he wasn't afraid to express his love. Even if I didn't agree with him being head over heels for flame breath's girl, I had to admire his determination to be with her. It was just like Juvia's. That in itself was why I had agreed to be together for a few days while Jay was here. I wanted to see more of how this kid operated, how he could be so much like me, but unafraid and unashamed of how he felt. I wanted to be more like him.

We were sitting in my house since we couldn't go to Fairy Hills. Juvia was in the kitchen preparing a meal, while Jay and I sat on the couch, watching the Lacrima. "All of these shows are _boring_," he complained, folding his hands behind his head. "I can't believe you used to watch this crap. At least ten years from now, we'll have something in common."

"We have everything in common now," I commented.

"No way," he argued. "You're up tight and _boring_. I'm at least cool."

"He says with no clothes on." I looked down and realized mine were suddenly missing too.

"What the—" we yelled in unison, jumping off the couch and looking around for some kind of apparel.

"Gray, Jay, dinner is—" Juvia sang as she waltzed through the living room door. She held a pan of food in her hands, but when she saw our clothes missing, she dropped it onto the floor. Her face turned crimson, and she almost fainted. She started to fall, but I leaped and caught her in my arms. She sighed contently until she realized I still didn't have any clothes on. She screamed. I screamed. We all screamed.

* * *

"Ice cream!" Jay munched into his chocolate swirl, while Juvia and I watched from the kitchen. Since the dinner was ruined, we decided it was ice cream only tonight which sounded better than anything Juvia had cooked. I don't know what she put inside her casserole but cleaning it up had been a nightmare. Usually, I was the one who made dinner, but she had insisted that if we were parents, she was the one who had to learn to cook.

Jay sat on the couch again, but this time he was clothed. Juvia and I shut the kitchen door when we knew he was content so that we could talk in private. "Gray-sama, Juvia thinks being a parent is a great idea," she confessed, a light blush on her cheeks. "I think that maybe we should finally tell the guild about us."

I sighed and pulled her into a close embrace. "I think you're right." She gasped at my words, and I moved her back to look into her eyes. They sparkled with wonder and enthusiasm. "It's time to end this secret, since everyone knows now." I kissed her forehead. "Besides, I thinking making a kid would be a great idea too."

Her blush returned in full force. "Oh, Gray-sama!" She jumped forward, and pulled me closer into a deep kiss. I was surprised at first, but then I closed my eyes and sank into her. My arms wrapped around her waist, and she tangled her fingers into my hair. My lips left hers as I worked my way down her jaw, slowly kissing her throat. She moaned and whispered my name. I pushed her onto the kitchen table, my hands struggling to get rid of her shirt. My clothes nearly disappeared all the time, but when I actually tried to remove hers, it came off achingly slow.

"Damn this button!" I growled into her throat.

A chuckle bubbled from the door, and we froze. "So this is how I'm conceived?" Jay asked, continuing to laugh at our embarrassed state. "Don't stop on my account. I mean, you did make the perfect child after all." He placed his bowl of ice cream into the sink and waved just as he walked back through the door.

Juvia slipped off the table, and straightened her shirt. I looked away, still feeling ashamed about being caught in such an act. It's like being caught at the guild with everyone watching. Reading my mood, Juvia placed her hands on my chest, and I looked back at her. "Don't worry, Gray-sama. Juvia is right here with you."

I relaxed and embraced her closely again. "And, I'll always be here with you."

**Evergreen's POV**

Jane cried and cried, but Mira and I could never figure out why. Mira tried singing, and it worked for a little while, but then she only started again. I tried to hold her, but every time I got close, she sent a bolt of electricity at me. Elfman and Lisanna had decided to stay at their house for the night and get it ready for three more people. It was weird to have our affair exposed, but Mira and Lisanna seemed to already know about it. We had decided to stay at my place at Fairy Hills. The statues didn't even phase Mira or Ever.

Ever took Jane from Mira and started to rock her back and forth while singing a gentle song. For being so masculine like her father, she oddly had a soothing and beautiful voice. When the baby was asleep, she placed her in the crib that we had bought on the way home. Ever shut the door and met us in the living room where Mira had a cup of tea waiting for her. She uttered a thanks and sat down.

Looking at her felt surreal. I couldn't believe I had a daughter that had come from the future and was sitting in front of me. But that wasn't the real problem. "Why are you here?"

"Evergreen!" Mira chastised me for being so blunt.

Ignoring her, I stared into Ever's eyes and demanded the truth. "There is a reason you came seeking us. Scarlet mentioned that you were here to save us, but what does that mean?"

Ever took a long sip of her tea, and then sat it on the table. She curled her knees up to her chin and stared at the table for a while before she finally answered. "Scar made me promise not to tell just yet. It's not a story I can explain simply. We were never supposed to come in contact with our birth parents, but Nashi was the one who ran off and ruined the plan. I guess I can't blame her though. She hasn't seen her parents in over ten years."

"What happened to them?" Mira asked gently, noticing the way she shook uneasily.

Ever buried her head, mask the pain in her voice when she said, "Everyone is killed." Mira and I gasped and stared at each other, questions rolling through our minds that we feared to ask. "Some made it through," she suddenly mentioned. I released an unsteady breath and asked her about it. "It just depended. Gildarts, Master, and Laxus were the last one's I saw before walking through the portal. I'm not sure who else was left."

"What about your parents?" Mira asked for me.

Ever shook her head. "Evergreen was among the first that we lost." I nearly choked on my tea. I was going to die first? Fear cut through me like a knife, and it was suddenly too cramped in this large apartment. "But Daddy survived…kind of. He went mad after Mama was gone. I tried to make him smile, to remember that I was here with him. I changed my name and dyed my hair Mama's favorite color. It sorta worked. He did try harder, but sometimes he lost himself to the agony. He disappeared a month before we came here."

She changed everything just to make her father smile again? Tears filled my eyes, and I threw my arms around her. She stiffened at first, unsure of these emotions, but I could feel her fighting the sobs. When she finally let the tears fall, I pulled her into my arms and let her cry into my shoulder. Mira smiled at us, and I smiled back. I brushed Ever's hair, trying to soothe her. "I'm sorry," I finally said. "I'm sorry I couldn't be there for you in the future, but no matter whether I'm here or there, I'll always love you." She started to cry harder, and I hugged her tighter as my own tears started to fall. I promised myself that I would be here for her as long as I could.

**Gajeel's POV**

"C'mon Pops!" the boys complained. "You're too slow!"

Fucking kids always in a fucking rush. Did no one appreciate what was around them anymore? I heaved myself onto the rock, catching up to the boys. We had agreed at the guild to go camping on the cliff outside town, but they wanted to climb without using their magic. It wouldn't have been a problem if it weren't for the fact that Levy was holding onto my back. She had wanted to climb by herself, but I wasn't about to go save her ass if she wasn't strong enough and fell. I'd put her on my shoulders and started up the cliff.

Gale and Leevi raced ahead. They had made it to the top a few minutes ago, when I stopped to look at the moon. It was hauntingly beautiful the way it beamed silver rays to earth and the stars glittered against the black sky. Levy had caught me staring in wonder and smiled, reveling in the knowledge that I had a weakness. I ignored her and made the final climb to the top. The boys already had two tents pitched. But where was the third?

"Damn lazy kids don't even know how to count," I grumbled. I looked around for them, but they were nowhere to be found.

"I-I think that they are used to us sleeping together," Levy muttered sheepishly. "I mean. Where they're from, we are married after all."

I blushed. She was right, as always. They were probably used to us camping out, and us sharing a tent. I gulped audibly and turned away from her. "Well, I'm not sleeping in a tent with you. I'm going to stay outside."

"Like I'd want to sleep beside you anyways," Levy shot back. I turned around to look at her, but she wasn't paying me any attention. She was using script magic to create a fire. The ground erupted into flames, and I jumped back, confused by her amount of power. She sat down and tried to get warm.

Sighing, I sat beside her and put my arm around her shoulders. She shot me a bewildered look, and I shrugged. "Can't be having you catch a cold just because you agreed to the kids' idea," I suggested. She only returned her gaze to the fire.

The boys returned moments later, excited about some huge bug they caught for dinner. Levy "eeped" and refused to eat it. The boys and I laughed, but they released it anyways. For dinner, Levy used her script magic, and made each of us a block of iron. Leevi and I started chowing down, but Gale looked disgusted.

"I'm not like my brother. I don't eat iron like a pig," he complained.

Levy thought for a moment. "Well, then, what do you eat?" she asked.

Gale lifted his hands to the air and began sucking it in. Levy and I shot him a glare, and he shrugged. "Wendy thought that she wouldn't have time to continue her legacy because of one of Carla's predictions so she taught me sky dragon slayer magic."

"Turns out, Carla was right," Leevi added between munches of iron.

"What do you mean?" I asked. "Something happen to us?" Leevi and Gale stopped eating and shared a knowing look. They both shrugged then continued. Growing agitated, I jumped to my feet. "Hey! What happens?"

"Calm down, Pops," Gale complained.

"We were instructed by Scarlet not to mention anything," Leevi continued for him. "You'll find out tomorrow."

Levy begged me to sit down, and I listened to her, but I still did not like that they were hiding a secret like this. The boys stayed quiet after that for the rest of the night for the first time since they arrived. They fell asleep shortly after eating anyways, and I carried them to their tent. Levy helped wrap a warm blanket around them, and then left to extinguish the fire.

When she left, I sighed and watched the boys sleep. They were adorable and still small for their age, just like shrimp outside. It was exhausting having kids, but looking down on them, I couldn't hide the smile that the joy having them gave me. In a moment of weakness, I kissed their foreheads and left them in peace.

I bent back the tent flap and stepped outside. Levy was standing over the cliff's edge, watching the night sky. The way the moon cascaded down on her made my breath stop. She was always pretty when we were sitting around the guild talking, but now she was something more. She was beautiful. _And she was the mother of my children._

Levy turned to meet my gaze, and she smiled softly and giggled. I looked away, not liking that I was caught. "Well…goodnight, I guess."

"Goodnight, shrimp," I replied, watching her disappear into the second tent out of the corner of my eye. When she was gone I sighed. Why was something so beautiful so far out of reach? I had always admired her since I joined the guild. At first I thought it was because I felt guilty for what I did to her when I was with Phantom, and I felt almost obligated to protect her. But after all the months I spent with her and our experience at Tenrou Island, I knew it was far more than just those trivial emotions.

That was what led me into her tent a minute later. I lied behind her back and put my arm around her waist. She sighed contently and placed her hand over mine. "I was hoping that you would come," she admitted quietly. I pulled her closer and buried my face in her soft hair. Her scent enraptured me, and it was the last thing I remembered before falling asleep next to her.


	5. Chapter 5

**Thanks guys for reading! I don't own Fairy Tail. **

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**Cana's POV**

_He's been sitting here for a while_. I thought, eyeing the newest kid to the guild. Everyone else had figured out pretty quickly who their parents were and left with them, but this kid just stayed at the bar, hitting the booze almost as hard as I usually do. "Hey," I called, shooting back the last remnants of my barrel.

The kid looked up, a bored expression on his face. He watched as I placed the finished drink on the floor beside me, and I clambered onto the counter to sit closer to him. He rolled his chocolate eyes and took a sip of his ale. "What do you want?" he asked grumpily.

I crossed my arms and leaned back to examine him closer. His short hair was a deeper brown than I first realized when he'd been introduced to the guild with the others. It was almost black, but the color was barely distinguishable. Tiny hairs prickled across his jaw line, and a long coat settled around his shoulders. He was by far the calmest and sanest of the kids, and hell, even among Fairy Tail._ Just who was this kid?_

"My name is Cane," he spat, making me realize I'd just said my thought aloud. "And in case you're wondering, I like to have my drinks in peace."

"Are you even old enough to drink kid?" I asked.

He scoffed and took another sip before answering. "Don't worry. I'm legal. We may be kids, but we're a lot older than we look."

I laughed at him. "Hey, whatever. I think it's pretty awesome that the little brats met their parents. It sure caused a stir earlier today." Starting to reach for my drink, I sadly remembered that I had already finished it off. Since Mira had left with her new daughter, and Master went to fetch Laxus from his mission, no one was truly left in the guild to authorize the booze. They had warned us to make our last drink last until morning, but I completely forgot until now. "Speaking of parents…just whose child are you?"

Cane studied his drink for a long time, an uneasy look on his face. It was evident he was lost in contemplation, and after a while, I thought he wouldn't answer. A wry smile twisted his lips, and he laughed dryly. He looked up at the ceiling, and spoke to no one in particular when he said, "I don't know."

"What do you mean? Surely there's a reason you came back…" I trailed off, unsure really of what the kid's main objective coming here was in the first place. Other than Erza's daughter saying they were from the future to "save us"—whatever that meant—no one knew why they were here.

Cane picked up on my thoughts and shrugged. "Scarlet said she'd clarify everything tomorrow," he explained. "She said something about letting everyone have a night to "settle matters" with their parents before we had to continue our mission." He turned in his seat to face the door and tipped back his mug before he slammed it on the bar. "As for me," he said as I started to stand, "since there isn't anyone here for me to catch up with, I decided to do what I did best. Alcohol."

"That's sad," I commented.

A single eyebrow arched as he shot me a confused expression. "Can you really judge me when you just killed a keg in a single sitting?"

"Not the alcohol part," I sighed. "Being alone and not having anyone to see. Your friends are visiting parents and loved ones, and you're here at the bar by yourself. It's lonely. I've been in your place before. When I first joined Fairy Tail, it was to finally meet my father, but I never got the chance to tell him that I was his daughter until I was much older and already raised by the guild. He's a very loving man, and honestly I do miss him sometimes."

Cane cocked his head at me and glowered. "That story sounds familiar somehow… I was told something similar by my dad."

"Your dad?" I inquired, hoping that he would finally open up and tell me more about his past.

He nodded once. "Yeah, my old man is crazy. He tells me stories all the time about how to treat women right because he never did when he was younger. He ignored his only daughter for about ten years, and by then, he said it was too late."

"Wait your father…" A sudden mortifying thought came to my mind. _It couldn't be_. "What was his name?"

He shot me a grin. "C'mon, Cana. Did you really think your dad wouldn't talk about you?"

Gildarts. Cane was raised by Gildarts. Tears brimmed on my eye lids, and I nearly fell off the counter as I trembled. "But…why?"

Cane shrugged. "I guess since you weren't part of the attacks, Scarlet won't get upset that I told you." He looked at me long and hard, his expression showing his wariness to expose the truth to me. But… he was my son. _My son_. He sighed heavily and looked away from my pleading eyes, as he spoke the words that broke my heart into pieces, "You died giving birth to me, so your father decided to raise me as his own kid. He thought it was some kind of repayment for not being present for your childhood. He…He even named me after you."

My heart exploded, and I began wailing. I slumped off the bar and sunk to my knees, sobbing into my hands. How could I do this? I know better than anyone the pain of growing up alone and without a parent, and now here I was completely abandoning my own! What kind of human am I to sink this low?

Cane trekked towards me uneasily. He sat beside me, careful not to be too close, but still alarmed by my tears and wanting to help. "Umm," he tried. "Cana, really, it's not your fault. It was a curse that not even Wendy could save you from. Gildarts was a great parent, so I was never lonely." He wrapped an arm around me and lifted my chin so that I could look into his eyes. "Seriously, I've never held it against you. It's kind of like your relationship with Dad—er, Gildarts. He told me stories about how you only wanted to keep things the same like you had before." I sniffled and nodded, remembering my arguments with him about the whole ordeal. "So, can we be like that? We can even be drinking buddies."

I laughed along with him and agreed. "But there is one thing that Gildarts mentioned that is part of my stipulation."

"What's that?"

My arms encircled him, and he gasped as he was pulled into a tight embrace. Leaning close to his ear, I whispered, "At least give me the right to love you." He never responded, but he returned the hug. I felt him smile and a single tear splashed onto my shoulder. That was all the answer I ever needed.

**Erza's POV**

"I finally found you," I breathed in relief. She was hard to track down, but I decided at some point that she was probably like me and when she didn't want to be found, she wouldn't be. Only, we thought the same way apparently, and when we wanted privacy, there was only one place in Magnolia I would go. I had spent all night trying to track her down when the answer was so obvious.

There was a small hill a few miles outside the guild that not many knew about. It was pathetically miniscule and difficult to reach unless you already knew how to get there. Others would have kept walking, but when I had first found the place, I instantly fell in love. If you stood in just the perfect location, you could see the entire town and the guild. It was like seeing through a looking glass. Not everyone could see the value, but it was my secret place to come and think.

However, I assume in the future this is no longer the case. I smiled at the beautiful girl even as she glowered at me venomously and turned away. She was my daughter, and there was no denying the fact that I had instantly fallen in love with her. "It took me a while, but I'm glad I found you," I admitted and sat on the cool grass. I inhaled the fresh night air and sand back on my elbows. "It's beautiful tonight, Scarlet. Would you care to join me to look at the stars?"

"No, I would not," she hissed. "I was enjoying my privacy before you came and ruined everything. Now leave before I make you."

Ever since she had walked through the doors and into my life, I may have loved her, but it was clear what her feelings were for me. It may have bothered some, but I was unfazed. I straightened and curled my knees under my chin. "I do not know why you feel as you do towards me, but I am not the same person you knew. At least try to look inside your heart and realize that."

I heard the sound of an unsheathing sword and felt the cool metal bite into my shoulder a second later. "Leave," she growled. "This is my land, and you have no right to be here monster."

_Monster?_ I searched her eyes for any hints of her past, but only saw anger and hurt. I nodded and jumped away from her sword as I requipped into my purgatory armor. There was only one way to settle these matters. "Obviously, you would rather battle. I will make you a deal then. If I win, you have to explain why I am a monster. If you win, I will leave you to your hilltop."

She lunged forward, swinging swiftly. I parried and pursued her with full force. She blocked every blow without ever breaking a sweat or having to requip swords. Deciding on a different tactic, I changed into my heavenly wheel armor. I attacked with the might of ten swords, but she again countered them. She attacked, screaming. I lifted my sword to block, but she disappeared before me, and reappeared at my side. I barely had time to defend myself. I used ten more swords to distract her while I changed into my samurai armor and swung with all my might. She flashed through the sky, shattering all ten blades before she met mine with as much force as a seasoned swordsman. I struggled against her, and we sparred for what felt like hours before finally, I realized something.

"You're crying," I noted while I gasped for air.

She stopped fighting and wiped at her face angrily. "Don't you dare feel sorry for me! Tears are a weakness I haven't been able to conquer yet, but once I do, I'll be unstoppable."

"Is that what you think they are?" I asked, saddened by her words. "That tears are a weakness and that if you overcome them you'll become more powerful?"

She pointed her katana at me, her arms shaking from the earlier exertion. "Tears show how weak you are mentally and lead to defeat! They destroy you and turn you into monsters!"

Confused, I opened my arms wide, and asked, "And how are we monsters for being human?"

Scarlet dropped her arm, and her voice lowered menacingly. "For this," she said. Her armor glowed around her, and the sword disappeared from her hands. She requipped into plain clothing, but what her skin showed was horrifying. She had scars, old and new, slicing in sporadic places everywhere her skin showed below her neck. "Because of tears, you lost the fight for yourself and were taken over by the darkness. You kidnapped mages and tortured them for your new master and nearly single handedly destroyed Fairy Tail. You're the reason why we came back. We have to stop you from killing the guild."

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**Annnd cliff hanger... ;) Hope you liked my recent chapters involving the rest of the members. Up next we'll be returning to the guild in Lucy's view. I wonder how she feels about Natsu leaving her without a kiss in Chapter 3... Hmm. **

**If you don't mind, please leave a review! This is my first fanfic ever, so I want to know how I'm doing. Thanks again!**


	6. Chapter 6

**Hi guys! So as always, I do not own Fairy Tail. Things are finally starting to be explained, and just to warn you, there is a little bit of intense graphics in this chapter. If you can't handle it, you may want to skip it for right now! Have Fun!**

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**Lucy's POV**

The guild halls swung open widely and shouts of mirth bubbled into the summer air. Fellow members were already situated at their tables, richly involved in their usual antics. Cana sat at the bar, happily drinking from her keg, while Mira smiled and waited on tables. Levy was showing Wendy a book, while Gajeel and Lily watched idly nearby. Happy was trying to give Carla a fish, but she refused him as always. Juvia was drooling over Gray who was pretending not to notice her.

Heavy sigh escaped my lips, and I continued to droop my head on the bar counter. Only a few days ago, everything would have appeared normal. But now, there were a few additions to the guild…

Cane had joined Cana with her drinking. Between handing orders of food and drink, Mira would check on her baby. Gale and Leevi were shooting spit balls at Wendy, and Gajeel and Lily had to control them. Jay was trying to propose to Nashi, but she only met his offers with a fist of fire.

_Fire…_ The thought reminded me of last night, and the confusing conflicts that had been aroused. My eyes searched for the dragon slayer, and he was in a dark corner of the guild, moping in same position I was. But even from this far away, I could still feel the onyx eyes lingering on me. Our gazes met, and he quickly looked away. A frown tugged on my lips. Ever since the incident, he had avoided me. I couldn't figure out why, and it bothered me to no end. Last night it had felt like he was going to kiss me, but then he ran away. But why would he want to kiss me? And why for Mavis's sake did I want to know just how it would feel like to finally feel his pressed against me—Ugh! That was the problem! We were friends, and I'm pretty sure he was about to say he didn't like me before he left me. I groaned and tried to ignore my problems as I continued to look around the guild.

From what I could tell, most of the parents had already adjusted to having a new child with them. Evergreen and Elfman were laughing merrily with Ever. Lisanna started playing with Ever's long green hair and had intricately braided back. Master loved the idea of being a great-grandfather, but he was busy speaking with a sullen Laxus. It was obvious he was uncomfortable with it, and he kept eyeing his beautiful takeover mage warily. Scarlet sat alone from everyone, silently picking at her strawberry cheesecake while Erza sat on the opposite end of the guild. Her expression was dark and brooding, and she held a dangerous mood about her. She had been staring out the window ever since we had first arrived, and no one seemed inclined to talk to her just yet.

Nashi sauntered towards me and rested her head on the counter. Laughing that her gesture mirrored mine, I asked why she was so down. "Men are so complicated," she complained, shooting a gaze at the ice mage. He blew her a kiss, and she quivered in disgust. "I don't understand their sex at all. They're completely foreign creatures. At least with Papa, you never seemed to have a problem."

"What do you mean?" I asked, straightening myself. My eyes wandered over to the pinkette in the corner again, and our eyes locked for a few seconds before he turned away. I could almost hear his unintelligible mutterings from here. My frown deepened, and a blush formed on my cheeks. I couldn't even begin to fathom just how Natsu and I finally got to that point in our relationship to have child together.

Nashi leaned back in her chair, and she scratched at her cheek as she recalled, "You and Papa have always gotten along really well as far as everyone in the guild told me. The two of you were completely inseparable, and that was even before you realized you loved him."

The blush on my cheeks deepened, and I mumbled, "I don't know how we ever started to like each other…"

"You wrote it down in a letter to me once," Nashi said. "You said that—"

"All right," a voice boomed from the center of the guild. Conversations fell silent, and everyone averted their attention to the small requip mage in the center of the room. She held her hands on her hips carried herself confidently as she started to point at all of the kids. "It's time," she announced. "I was gracious enough to give you a night, but now it is time to finally start the mission." She nodded at Ever. "It's time to expose yourself."

Ever looked down sadly at her masculine hands and sighed. She nodded once and stood. "I'm sorry Auntie Lis that you worked so hard on my hair, but now I have to undo it." Lisanna only smiled, and Evergreen and Elfman watched carefully as she climbed onto the table. "I told you that I had changed myself before so that I could make Daddy smile again," she said, looking at Evergreen. "But that was only half the truth. I have the ability to change my appearance as a type of takeover magic, but I can also manipulate the appearance of others. With this gift, I was being hunted down, and when our team united, I had to keep myself hidden." She held out her hands. "My real name is Sakura, and this is my true form."

Her body began to manipulate and change and her skin started to shine brightly like a thousand diamonds being hit by a ray of sun. It was blinding, and I covered my eyes to protect myself. The light around her only intensified until finally, it imploded and snapped back into her body. What was then standing on the table was far different than the masculine girl who was there before. This new child was thin and fragile, and her skin was a deep tan like Elfman's. Her eyes were still the same haunting silver, but it was truly her hair that stole my breath. It was as soft as silk and fell in elegant waves down her body to her waist, but it continuously began to fade in and out of a different color of the rainbow just like a rainbow sakura tree.

She grinned beautifully and moved gracefully in circles as she watched the guild eyeing her. "I was born beneath a sakura tree, and at birth, my takeover magic stole some of its ancient power and transformed me into this. I seldom can expose myself for my powers have grown, and in my future, I am constantly being hunted down. In fact, all of us are being chased to the brink of extinction. We children of the future sacrificed much to develop our magic to exceed even our own parents and all for this day so that we may return to the past and correct the mistakes from years ago."

"Mistakes?" Levy asked. Wendy and her pulled each other into a hug, and Leevi and Gale shot jealous looks at the sky dragon slayer for the lack of affection they were receiving.

Scarlet nodded in agreement with Sakura. "Yes. In the future, Earthland outlawed any use of magic and began slaying anyone who dares call themselves a mage on sight."

Gray jumped out of his chair. "Why?" he demanded. "Why would they want to get rid of magic?"

"Because," Jay answered, "those who use magic are considered monsters. They are unnatural creatures and only harm and destroy human lives and towns as much as they possibly can."

"Why would they even think that?" Cana demanded, slamming her mug onto the bar counter.

Cane touched her arm and sighed. "Because it's true."

"That's impossible," Natsu said, suddenly appearing next to me. I cried out in surprise by his sudden proximity, but he ignored me. "We are sworn to protect, not to kill or destroy."

"Honestly, flame brains no room to talk when it came to swearing not to destroy towns, but he has a point," Laxus agreed, speaking from his corner of the room. Him and Master walked towards the bar to be closer and sat on a stool next to where we were. "We are not a heartless dark guild that harms innocent people."

"Actually, there are a few of you who are excluded. They were able to break the curse or at least not fall victim to it," Nashi insisted quietly beside him. "Others simply…didn't make it." Her face fell, despair written everywhere in her expression as she remembered everything, but she held back the tears.

Natsu wrapped his arms around her and pressed her against his chest gently. "It doesn't matter about the curse. We're right here right now, and we'll help you however we can to protect the future." Nashi half sobbed and put her arms around him as her tears finally began to fall. Natsu smiled and met my gaze. I returned his smile, a light blush stroked across my cheeks. My hand rested on Nashi's shoulder, showing her that I also supported her.

Scarlet, however, had other ideas. "No. This curse isn't something to be taken so lightly," she hissed at Natsu. "It's a curse that works almost the same a Nirvana—only much more powerful. Whatever feelings the mage has at the time, it controls them and drives them into a single emotion: blood lust."

Master who was silent until now, snapped his head up. He glared at Scarlet, his mind reeling with outlandish thoughts. He didn't even have to speak for Scarlet to understand him. "That's right, Master Makarov Dreyer. You told me everything I needed to know to persuade you. Though this was originally your plan, I may have had to make some adjustments because of certain rogue partners…" She shot daggers at Nashi who was still being held by Natsu. The fire dragon slayers were afraid of this girl and both hid behind me. Scarlet seemed irritated with them, but decided to ignore them for now.

"Somewhere back sixty years ago when you first took over leadership as the third Master of Fairy Tail, a young girl joined the guild. At first she seemed small, insignificant, and innocent. She didn't appear to have a trace of magical energy, but feeling pity for the girl, you took her in," Scarlet stated to Makarov. "Over the years, she grew into a gentle woman, but her powers still never emerged… at least you didn't think they had. Deciding that she needed experience, you set her up with a team of four to go on a job to Mount Hakobe. It was a simple mission really and four was more than enough to protect her…but the mission still ended in disaster. She was the only one to return to guild, bloodied and battered, screaming hysterically about the mages being torn apart. Upon further investigation, you realized that they had been attacked by a rogue dark guild, and the scene there was…brutal. Fifty soldiers lied in the snow, dismembered, and long dead before you had arrived.

"But that's not the only thing you found in the snow that day. There was still one man left alive from your guild. He used his last amount of energy to relay what had happened that day just before he died in your arms. When you returned to Fairy Tail, you found most of the members seriously wounded, and a blood trail left behind by her. You took what men could still fight and hunted her down to a dark guild. When you arrived, you were bent on destroying every last one of them before you realized that she had possessed them. They attacked, and you tried to dispose of them, but they wouldn't stop. Her magic still casted their bodies at you even when they were unconscious. The only way to stop them, was to kill them all, but you couldn't quite do that either. After you had accidently murdered one of the guild members she was possessing, you realized that she used death magic and deaths only increased her magic power. It soon became a full out war that lasted months, and other guilds had joined in, and the magic council had to get involved. Then finally, you utilized every spell you could, and froze her body and magic in a suspended state and hid it where no one could possibly find it."

Makarov's fists clenched angrily at his sides. "But someone found her," he guessed, swearing.

Scarlet only nodded. "She vowed to take vengeance on every guild in Earthland and wipe out every mage. She fabricated a plan to make guilds turn against each other using possession and death magic to cause enough destruction to make the leaders of Earthland vow to destroy all magic. She started with the destruction of the magic council, and then dark guilds. They started killing towns, and she boosted her power with their deaths. When she finally reached Magnolia, she had a special vendetta to slowly torture each mage individually. We resisted at first, but then one after another, we gave into the darkness. She used our own feelings against us… All of us bear our own scars from her, and all except one of us is now an orphan…There were only a few left before you sent us back master." She saw the foreboding expressions around the guild and sighed heavily. "I'm sorry," she whispered softly.

Makarov began to shake and yelled in fury. His hand grew to an abnormal size, and he punched through a thick wooden column. Small whimpers of fear and sadness echoed throughout the guild, and the children could do nothing to improve their moods. They only sat looking down at the floor, their silence confirmation of Scarlet's story. Natsu was enveloped in thought, but his eyes drifted to me. He looked from me to Nashi, his expression then changing to determination. He nodded then, conveying to me the strength that I needed.

"Then we'll do it!" I shouted, making everyone jump. Bolting to my feet, I opened my arms and looked around. "That's why you were sent back, right? To let us know what is coming so that we can prevent it!" My hands searched for Nashi, and I gripped her hands in mine, as I looked into her deep brown eyes. "I promised myself that I would do everything I could within my power to make up for the time that you had lost in the future." My eyes wandered over the guild, searching for the kids, parents, friends, and families that I knew were here and were always willing to help. "I know that if everyone was given the opportunity to prevent this from happening you'd do it. We won't become the monsters of tomorrow because we will stay here and fight! This is Fairy Tail! We will not fall so easily! So who will join me in my quest to stop her?"

Everyone in the guild jumped to their feet and started shouting in excitement. This was Fairy Tail, dammit! We weren't about to go down without a fight! Sakura, still standing on the table lifted her right hand in the air, her index finger pointed towards the sky in the traditional Fairy Tail symbol. The guild copied her movements, and we started cheering late into the night. We didn't know what would come tomorrow, but we would try to stop it with all of our might.

Master was still enraged, but noticing that he was surrounded by his children, he let a small smile slip through. Laxus even chuckled at him. Scarlet wasn't sure how exactly they were going to kill this mage, but she couldn't argue with all the excitement around her. I laughed as the usual mirth continued, until a warm hand wrapped around my waist. My back was pressed against a firm chest, and a ragged whisper tickled my ear. Natsu was simply thanking me for giving Fairy Tail its spark back, but having him hold me the way he was, I knew he meant something much deeper.

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**Hmm. I wonder how they are going to defeat her? I guess you'll have to find out next time! Please leave a review so I know how I'm doing! Thanks so much!**


	7. Chapter 7

**This is a long chapter, but it was a lot of fun to write! Hope you enjoy it as much as I did! Yet again, I do not own Fairy Tail. It belongs to Hiro Mashima. Please write a review, and let me know how you like it! Enjoy :)**

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**Natsu's POV**

"Gihehe, you sure know how to screw up, pinky." Gajeel was enjoying my frustration a little more than he had any right to, and it was grating my nerves. "Seriously, how could you even let bunny girl slip through your fingers like that?"

My hands gripped tighter around the fishing pole until my knuckles turned white and cursed him. After the guild incident yesterday, Erza's hellspawn, Scarlet, had mentioned that they children all lived in a hideout far outside Magnolia. She thought it was best for us to have minimal contact with each other or else we'd risk altering the future. I'd strongly objected, but Gramps slammed me down with his over-sized monster fist and I couldn't fight. I had to watch Nashi's sad smile as she walked away from the guild with the others. Seeing her leave was difficult, and it plucked achingly against my heart strings to know what she had been through… It had put me in a sour mood, so Gajeel, accompanied by Gray, Laxus, and Elfman, took me to the lake to go fishing. Happy had joined us after spending time with Carla, and he rested against my leg, snoring lightly.

At first, it was quiet and awkward. Being surrounded by such strong, formidable—and exceedingly annoying—companions only made me want to fight each one of the bastards. However, after a scuffle with Laxus and a one punch knock-out later, I decided to just "chill" with the guys. After some time had passed though, all the tension eased, and it was almost as if none of us had ever had a single fight before with each other. Almost. It wasn't until Gray and Gajeel had pestered me into exploiting my unfortunate mishap with Lucy at her house that my irritation aroused again, and I itched for another fight.

"Well, what about you and Levi?" I snapped back at metal head. After I finished my story, everyone else decided to share what had happened the night before as well. "You seriously only laid there with her? At least I tried to advance in my relationship!"

"I did, you dope!" he growled back. "Some people take more modest approaches."

"Tch. Amateurs," Laxus scoffed, leaning back against the tree, his pole resting between his legs.

I nearly lunged at him, but a snore reminded me that Happy was still resting. Not wanting to wake him yet, I pouted and stared straight ahead into the lake. Though he wasn't initially there for Mira because he had been on a job, when he learned he had a child of his own to take care of, he smoothly slid into his fatherly position. He joined Mira in the guild's kitchen to help her care for Jane as she waited tables. Though she was busy, she stayed as long as she could back there, and if the moans were any indication, I would say Laxus made quicker headway with his relationship than any of us had.

"I know what you mean," Gray said slyly, a secret grin on his face.

"Oh, shut up stripper!" I barked at him. "Having an affair with Juvia before this all happened is cheating!"

He seemed flabbergasted for a moment, still obviously uncomfortable with how open his affair was now. He thought he was so witty keeping it a secret, but seriously? It was written all over his face just how infatuated he was with her. They called it "teamwork". I called it "bullshit". It was so painfully evident from the beginning. Always denying her but overly protective, being compatible with each other and using magic unison raids, and constantly by each other's side without complaint. It was almost as obvious as Lucy and me—except she still panicked whenever I was just a little too close to her, or freaked out if I happened to walk in on her changing.

Then again, I secretly envied Gray. At least he was man enough to admit his feelings for her. I had the beautiful blonde completely exposed in front of me, and I couldn't even say anything to her! She looked so sad and confused when I left her, but I couldn't even read what it meant. Was she sad that I didn't advance? Or was she disappointed that I fell for her but she couldn't return my feelings? I thought I made my feelings known by my casual flirting and need for closeness, but I guess either she was unaware of it, or she was trying to ignore it. Hell, she was either hugging me or kicking me in the face. I couldn't understand her at all!

"Affairs are MAN!" Elfman roared, lifting his fishing pole out of the water. I screamed as his hook flung my way and ducked, but Gajeel was caught unaware. It got stuck in his lip, and he yelled in pain and shot to his feet trying to unlatch it. Elfman pulled on the pole, and Gajeel was dragged with it. Laxus cursed when he was kicked by the wailing iron dragon slayer. Sparks flew around him dangerously, and a stray bolt bit into Happy's ass. He awoke in surprise and jumped onto Gray's head with claws extended from his fright. Gray shouted and dropped his pole and began running around in circles with the exceed latched onto him. Gajeel ripped the hook out finally and ate it. He stormed towards Elfman, but Laxus sucker punched him in the jaw, still pissed he had stomped on him. The two dragon slayers began fighting, and Elfman dropped his pole and tried to back away slowly, but they caught him by the front of his shirt and started punching him for starting it. Gray finally managed to scrape Happy off of his head, and began picking a fight with me for allowing my cat to attack him, but before he could make good on his threats, the other three brawlers ran into him, and he fell face first into the lake. I laughed merrily, clutching my stomach because it hurt. Leave it to these guys to know exactly how to cheer me up!

Abandoning the pole, I took advantage of the three fighters. I signaled for Happy, and he lifted me high into the air, then circled around and made us a speed faster towards the trio that I proceeded to kick into the lake. Gray was just starting to stand in the murky water, until he heard the screams of the other guys. He gulped and joined in their panic as they collided. Happy released me onto the bank, and I stood above them laughing. "Looks like I win!" I shouted heartedly, shooting balls of fire into the air with my fists. They each shot me a death glare and started pounding their fists into their hands and they spoke in unison:

"You wish!" Laxus snarled.

"Bring it, pyro!" Gray barked.

"I'm still standing!" Gajeel retorted.

"Man!" Elfman shouted.

I grinned, and used the tips of my fingers to use fire to spell out a clear message: "Come on."

**Lucy's POV**

My body sighed into the couch as I contemplated Levi's situation. After the children left with Scarlet, and Natsu made a fuss about Nashi leaving, Erza, Levi, and Cana had decided to stroll to my house for tea. It was refreshing to have their calm company, instead of having a deranged and destructive dragon slayer and his snarky cat using my apartment as a gym and second house. But, what had started off as a quiet evening had led to this: confessions. It was completely uncomfortable, but I figured if I could distract them long enough, that they would forget about asking me. So far, my plan was working. We were discussing Levi and her growing attachment to Gajeel.

I had known for a while that the script mage had a crush on the iron dragon slayer. After the grand magic games, I had confronted her about her attentiveness to him, and she finally admitted it to me. However, now that there were actual children from the future that just so happened to belong to her and Gajeel, it made the situation very awkward. She told us how they had snuggled and slept in the tent beside each other all night, but it had only made her more distraught.

"I don't know what to do!" she confessed, staring hard into her tea. "Maybe if I could just read a book and find the answer to this, everything would be different, but I can't!"

"Of course you can't read this in any book!" Cana shook her head. "No one can tell you exactly how to live your life and not all the answers to life's problems are going to be written out. Sometimes you have to pick up the pen and begin writing your own chapters."

Erza nodded in agreement. "It's love. It's as simple as black and white, and yet as difficult as all the shades of gray. Nothing is for sure, and you'll never know what is going to happen next until you take the next step."

"I know," Levi muttered, her right hand covering her face. "I just don't know how to say it…"

My hand reached out to her. I lifted it off her face and held it gently in mine as our eyes met. Shooting her an encouraging smile, I said, "Then maybe you don't have to say it."

"What—" she started, but I lifted my hand to silence her.

"Love is different for everyone, and we all express it in our own ways. When Gajeel decided to come into the tent, I'm sure that it was his own way of saying that he liked you. He doesn't need words. I mean c'mon, it's Gajeel! He can barely express any feelings around us, but when he's with you, it's like he becomes an open book. He changes completely and stays close to you because you're that important to him. Next time you're alone with him, and you can't find the words, maybe you can find another way of expressing yourself to him. One that's obvious about how you feel."

Levi placed her tea on the table, and collapsed on the ground in front of me. She threw her arms around my neck and pulled me into a tight embrace. "Oh, Lu-chan! You're right! Next time I'll just have to show him."

I smiled and hugged the blue haired girl back. When we pulled away, I leaned back into my seat again, and sighed contentedly. That was until I noticed Cana's sly grin. I knew I was going to dread her next words before she even said them. "Oh, Lucy! You are right… hmm… maybe you're speaking from experience?"

Yep. Definitely dreading it. I groaned and raked a hand down my face in distress. "No," I replied back after a moment of mentally cursing myself for letting it get to this. "In fact, the night Natsu stayed here, nothing even happened. I mean, I got stuck in an awkward situation in bathroom with him, but—"

"What?" all three girls gasped. Erza was the first to compose herself and demanded, "What happened? Did he touch—"

"No!" I shouted. "It's like I told you. Nothing happened…"

Cana being ever perceptive noticed my eyes dart sadly to the floor. "But you're wishing something had," she inferred.

Another loud sigh escaped me, and I shrugged. "I don't know. I don't even think that pyro knows what love is. He's flirty with me sure, but we're just partners. Nakamas. Nothing romantic could ever happen between us."

Erza crossed her arms, not believing my story for an instant. "I see how you react around each other on missions, Lucy. He smiles at you, you blush and smile back, he saves you when you're falling, and you thank him with this look on your face that is clearly pure affection. You're comfortable around each other, and like Gajeel is different around Levi, Natsu is different around you."

I scoffed. "Different? He acts the same goofy way around everyone. Plus, why would he like me? I'm sure there's something romantic between him and Lissana."

Cana shook her head. "Actually, before she disappeared, he never once invited her on a mission. He never acted the way he did around you. When he brought you to the guild, everyone was talking about how Natsu finally opened up to someone. As years progressed, we started to notice that he couldn't go anywhere without you." She threw an arm around me and laughed. "Aww, it's so cute! NaLu!"

I pushed her away, and she giggled. "That's still ridiculous. Whoever came up with NaLu is seriously disturbed on many levels."

Erza crushed the tea cup in her hand. Her sinister eyes glowered at me as she said, "I mcreated that name."

Frightened, I held up my hands in surrender. A sweat drop fell from my head and I laughed nervously. "I was only kidding, Erza! I-it's adorable!" Please don't kill me!

Cana downed the rest of her tea and went to kitchen to look for booze. I never knew I had bought any until she came back out with a half empty bottle of whiskey and began pouring it in her tea cup. She claimed she hadn't had any since this morning, but we all knew it was a lie. I handed Erza a plate of strawberry cake off the table to please her, and she thanked me before she delicately dug into her plate.

Levi poured herself another cup. "It must have been a shock when you saw Nashi for the first time," Levi stated. I knew she was referring to her showing up for the first time in my apartment, but there was something Nashi had mentioned to me just before she had left with Scarlet.

"Actually, that wasn't the first time we had met her," I confessed. For the second time, all three turned to me and gasped in shock. I giggled at their reaction. "It's true. We actually met some time a week before she appeared in my apartment. She mentioned it to us before she left today. Sakura has the ability the not only change her appearance, but others as well."

"Tell us, Lu-chan!" Levi pleaded, her curiosity rising.

Erza nodded her head and spoke between bites of her cake. "I would like to know this story as well."

A blush crept onto my cheeks and I consented to telling them what happened a few weeks ago…

_**Flashback**_

**Lucy's POV**

"Aww! That mission sucked!" Natsu complained, his hands casually folded behind his head as we walked down the cobblestone street.

"Aye!" Happy agreed, equally displeased. "You sure know how to pick the worst jobs, Lushi!"

A few days ago, I had been stressing about my rent as I usually did. Our last mission had ended in disaster with Natsu basically cremating an entire town, and instead of being rewarded, we had to pay back the damages. Now more broke than ever, I had resigned to choosing a safe job in which Natsu wouldn't be able to use his magic to destroy anything! Happy also followed us, but they secretly didn't know the second reason for choosing this job…

"Oh, cheer up!" I slapped Natsu on the back happily, making him jump. "Cleaning the Lord's house wasn't that difficult!"

Natsu grumbled and a look of disgust crossed his face. "That's easy for you to say," he pouted. "You were flirting with him the whole time, while Happy and I had to wear a maid's outfit."

A giggle escaped me before I could stop it. Remembering these two wearing those cute skirts was hilarious. "But you were so _adorable_!" I jested, covering my mouth to suppress another laugh.

"No, you would have been adorable if you would have worn it," he mumbled. I blushed at his words, but he thought nothing of them and continued, "For us, it was completely degrading!"

"Aye!" Happy agreed, coming to rest on Natsu's shoulder.

They continued to pout, and I couldn't contain my laughter anymore. I stopped and bent over an abandoned crate on the side of the street. My mirth kept bubbling out much to my partners' dismay. Natsu huffed, obviously annoyed, but I couldn't stop. "C'mon!" I said between laughs, "It wasn't all bad." Natsu and Happy made a face that said that, yes, it was all bad. More giggles erupted from me, and I tried my best to stop them as I reached into my pocket. "We made enough to suffice my rent, _and…_" I held out three tickets for them to look at, but before I could announce my grand plan, a black cat began to rub against my leg. I looked down in confusion, and bent over to scratch his ear.

Before I could say anything, a small girl darted out of the darkness, black locks of hair bouncing around her face, and wrapped her arms around the cat. "Luna!" she cried, squeezing the cat to her chest. It meowed softly and rubbed her head against the girl's neck. She smiled happily at the animal, but when her eyes caught mine, she froze. The look that passed through her blue eyes was not of fear or confusion, but of wonder. It was something I had not expected of a child wandering the streets alone. Her eyes flickered between mine and then to Natsu's. A singe tear streamed down her face, and she began to tremble.

"H-hey," I started, and placed a hand on her shoulder. "Are you okay? What are you doing out here?" True most children around her age usually travelled alone, but it was almost night time, and these streets were not entirely safe after dark. Especially the back roads where we traveling on now. Normally, I would have taken a direct route into the city, but I wanted to surprise Natsu and Happy, so I chose the back ways. She shouldn't be out here.

Her mouth started to open and close, as if she were still in shock. She tried to form coherent words, but before she could utter anything, Natsu leaned in close to her, his nostrils flaring as he sniffed her. "Hmm," he thought curiously. "You smell weird."

"Natsu!" I shouted, about to chatise him, but the girl snapped out of her trance and whipped around to him. She lifted one fist and slammed it into his cheek. Natsu fell over in surprise, and Happy jumped off of him before the big oaf landed on him. My eyes widened from Natsu to the fiery girl who dared punched him.

"Do you know how rude it is to _smell_ people?" she demanded.

A happy laugh echoed down the road and off the dilapidated buildings on this side of town. We looked at Natsu who was rubbing his cheek but held the biggest grin on his face. "Nice hit, kid!" he said proudly. He looked into my eyes and stated, "She's just as mean as you are!"

I huffed at him and turned my attention to the girl. She was staring back, the wonder suddenly returning. It caught me off guard, and I had to work to find my words. "So, what are you doing back here anyways?" I asked, watching as she tensed and squeezed the poor cat again. It made a hiss and wiggled out of her arms then shot back into the darkness. The girl looked uncomfortably at her feet, and I knew she didn't like where these questions were going. She was someone's child, but her parents were nowhere around. Maybe, they were with the rest of the town. Remembering the tickets in my hand, I smiled enthusiastically at her and held them up for her to see. "You know what? It doesn't matter. We're on our way to the festival here in town, and I got three free unlimited passes for all of the rides! Would you like to go with us?"

"Yay! Lucy's taking us to the festival!" Happy shouted, his wings flapping back out, and he jumped back into the air with renewed vigor.

Natsu who had managed to stand back up after being punched by the girl started to turn green. "Unlimited rides…"

"You can't get sick before you even get on them!" I snapped at him. I looked back at the girl, smiling down at her. A toothy grin lit up her face. "So, is that a yes?"

"Aye!" she shouted happily, closing her eyes and shooting a very familiar smile that reminded me too much of Natsu's signature grin. I tensed for a moment, pondering her choice of words and the sudden resemblance, but Natsu picked the child up onto his shoulders and began racing towards the center of town.

"Hurry up, Luce!" he yelled behind him.

I laughed, shaking off the weird feeling earlier and chased after the trio.

We spent the rest of the night, running around the festival like mad men. Though there were only three tickets and four of us now, I used a little sex appeal to ask the ticket man to let Happy in for free. After all, he was a cat. It didn't work, but the girl we found had other ideas. She widened her doll eyes, and sweetly asked the man if she could get in for free. She told him she had lost her parents, and she had never ridden on a magical rollercoaster before. Then she started tearing up and said the idea of not riding on one would break her fragile heart. Even I was touched by her act, and the ticket man began sobbing and allowed her to pass for free. Once we were out of ear shot, she laughed about how easily men were persuaded. Damn. She was good.

Natsu, despite his chronic motion sickness, had stuck it out and decided to ride with all of us on the rides. We rode at least each coaster three times, and the dragone slayer only hurled six times. I was proud of him. I had a little cash to spend, so between rides we would play carnival games. It gave Natsu time to rest, and it gave all four of us a chance to challenge our competitive streaks. The first game included shooting at a target. Natsu hit all but one target, and slammed his fists on the table and demanded his prize for winning. The carny apologized and said he didn't win and instead handed a giant purple cat to me. All of those training sessions with Bisca finally paid off. I laughed at his childish antics and gave the prize to the girl. She thanked me and gave me that same awed look from earlier. I tried to ignore the warm feelings stirring in my stomach. She was definitely growing on me, and I didn't want to get attached since I was mainly here trying to find her parents.

We tried asking her where they were, but the girl remained silent. After a while, I learned not to ask because I didn't want to ruin her night. We continued to play games and hop on rides. Natsu finally won a game even though it was just him and Happy playing. He won a fake pirate sword and chased me with it. "Being part of the Heartfilia family means you're wealthy; now surrender all of your money!"

"Natsu!" I wailed, trying to escape him.

The girl giggled at us, and I caught Happy leaning closer to her and whispering, "They liiiiiiike each other!"

I grabbed the exceed and began pulling on his blue cheeks. "What did you say cat?"

"Waaaah!" Happy cried and wiggled out of my grip. He flew into Natsu's arms. "Lushi's being mean, Natsu!"

Natsu whistled low. "Why, now you're attacking my best friend? I'm afraid that's really going to cost you, Miss Heartfilia! Now surrender the booty!"

He began chasing me again, and I started to cry about how twisted my friends were. The girl jumped between me and Natsu, holding a new play sword. "Sorry, but I can't let you do that!" she said, a huge smile on her face. I started to ask where she got the sword, but then I noticed a small boy on the ground, crying in shame nearby and decided not to ask.

Natsu laughed at her and held his sword up. "Is that a challenge?"

"Please!" the girl mocked. "Fighting you is not a challenge. It's a certain victory!"

Natsu and I laughed at the cocky girl, pleased with her answer. "I'll make you eat those words!" Natsu swore.

Five minutes and several new bruises later, Natsu had his arms crossed and was grumbling unpleasantly, while the girl now held both swords attached to her hip, and another signature grin on her face. Happy landed on my shoulder and whispered, "She fights as well as Erza. She's _scary_."

I nodded in agreement. The fight actually got pretty violent, and Natsu actually put his all into it, but the girl managed to fling the sword from his hand, and punched him hard in the face. He learned not to challenge her again. In fact, we all did.

"Ferris wheel!" the girl cried, pointing at the huge structure we accidently sauntered up to. Natsu began gagging, and I smiled at her.

I looked around, noticing that it was getting pretty late. "Sure," I agreed, my eyes wandering back to her. "We have time for one more ride."

She grinned wildly and bounded towards the ride with her large purple cat and two swords in tow. A few minutes later, we were all sitting together, staring up at the stars. Since we were the only ones on, we had asked the man to have us stop near the top. Natsu pleaded not to, but I forced him. He was sprawled out on my lap, while Happy sat on my shoulder. The girl started pointing at the stars, naming the different constellations.

"You really know a lot about them," I mentioned.

She nodded. "Aye, my mama taught me a lot about them. She said they were the diamonds of the heavens, and that if you were ever in trouble you could ask them for help."

I tensed. My mother had told me something similar just before she trained me in the ways of the celestial magic and again just before she passed away. I had never told anyone that story, not even Natsu. "Who are your parents?" I wondered again for the hundredth time that night.

She looked from me to her hands, her smile slipping off her face. Agony echoed in her eyes, and my breath caught in my throat from such haunting emotions. Tears brimmed at her eyes, and she shook her head. She opened her mouth to answer, but the Ferris wheel began revolving again, and a moment later, we were resting on the ground.

Natsu collapsed on the ground, completely exhausted and nauseated. He wailed miserably, and I tried to help him to his feet when a scream ripped through the air. My eyes shot up, and I noticed how empty and dark the park was suddenly, except for the burly men creeping out of the dark like shadows. One men began to chuckle as he closed in on us. "My, my. I thought I had heard someone mention that Jude's girl was here, but I didn't believe it."

I froze, and Natsu slumped helplessly against me, a pathetic moan escaping him. "Who are you?" I demanded.

The man stepped into the only light left on, and I noticed his rugged features and cutthroat eyes. Five men began to chuckle as they too revealed themselves. All of them wore holey clothes that were ripped and barely clinging to them, with old blood stains still clinging to some of the fabric. It was clear to me that these men were killers, and if they knew who I was, then they were only after one thing.

"You wouldn't know us, but after your father lost all of his money, he came to us to bargain. We leant him money, but he never paid it back," said the man who had spoken earlier. He pulled a giant sword from its sheath and smiled devilishly at me. "I'm here to pick up what he owes us."

Natsu groaned, still not completely recovered from the effects of so many rides. I dropped him to the ground, not too gently, and he whimpered when he hit. Ignoring him, I pulled out my first two keys, and brought out Loke and Scorpio. "I don't care what he owed you, but you'll regret messing with me."

"Ohhh," he purred, "I like them frisky." He charged, and started to fight with Loke who used his incredible combat skills to disarm the man, and then pound him unconscious. Scorpio used his sand attacks to disorganize the other men, and I pulled out my whip. I struck it against the closest man, and it wound around his neck. Using my strength, I pulled hard, and he stumbled into the man beside him just as Loke pounced onto both of them and used his special attack to blast them. More men jumped from the dark, and I began using the training I learned from Natsu. I sparred with the first man, dodging his threateningly strong blows. I managed to finally use my Lucy-kick—yes! It was finally effective!—and knocked him out. I laughed at how easy combat was now, however, I lingered too long, and a man behind me managed to grab me from behind and put a knife to my throat.

"Lucy!" Loke shouted, his fists glowing.

"Call off the spirits!" he growled loudly in my ear. Loke shook his head, his eyes pleading with mine. "Do it!" he yelled even louder.

I trembled in his grip, and the blade bit harder into my flesh. A drop of blood began to roll down my throat, and my shoulders fell in surrender. I agreed and closed the gates. Loke shot me one last desperate look to be careful as him and Scorpio disappeared.

"Good!" The man called the last few of his bandits to tie up the sick dragon slayer and the cat. Happy must have gotten involved with the brawl because he was beat up, and whimpering against Natsu. The girl was nowhere to be seen. Good. Maybe she escaped. "This could have been so much easier if you would have followed us quietly, but you had to do this the hard way. Now I cannot even gurantee that we will treat you gently, because trust me, I know I won't."

A shiver of despair trembled throughout my body, and I looked at Natsu. In situations such as these he always saved me, but months ago I had asked him to train me so that I could save myself. Yet here I was again, the damsel in distress, and I had failed to protect myself and more importantly my nakama. My head drooped between my shoulders as the man bound my hands and began dragging me into the shadows. A single tear cascaded down my cheek. I had failed.

"Release her!" a new voice shouted, and my head snapped up at the source. Dread pulled at every corner of my heart as I realized the girl was standing in the center of where we had been, her toy swords and cat discarded and in her hands was a real sword stolen from one of the fallen bandits.

The man pulling me stopped and laughed at her. "And what on earth could a little girl do?" he asked, mocking her. "Put down the sword before you hurt yourself."

"I wouldn't have said that," I whispered, recalling her fight with Natsu earlier.

The corner of her mouth quirked at me statement, and she beckoned him. "Fight me, old man. Unless you're too scared of a little girl."

The man grunted in annoyance and snapped his fingers at the bandits. "Finish her," he said and turned his back to continue his trek to the darkness.

"No!" I cried and began sobbing and pulling against the restraints. Even though she had fought Natsu earlier, who knew how much of that had been real? Natsu could have faked the entire scenario and let her win, but these men were after blood! And there were so many of them! "Please!" I begged. "Don't hurt her."

The man only laughed and kept pulling me. I pleaded more, but he continued to ignore me. At least until he heard a cry of pain behind us, and we both turned to see the girl standing over a pile of bodies. Cold fear shot threw me as I took in the wild scene. How had she managed to take out so many men…and so quick?

"Now," she snarled in a low voice that sent waves of new fear rolling through me, "I believed I told you to release her."

The man growled and pulled his sword from his sheath. He struck the hilt sharply against my head, and I collapsed to the ground, my head pounding in pain. My body threatened to succumb to the darkness around me, but I held onto reality, clinging to consciousness as long as I could. Though my vision was blurry, I could see the man stalk towards the girl that wore a dark expression. She was no longer playing games.

"You little bitch," he shouted. "I'll kill you myself then."

"If you can," she dared, holding her sword in a defensive manner.

He swung swiftly, and she dodged the blow, and struck out at his exposed chest. He corrected his rash movements, and blocked her, barely. She pulled back, and feigned left, but he parried, and she grunted with the force. He overpowered her in every way, and if she lost to him… My stomach dropped, but I chose to ignore that line of thought.

She managed to escape him, and dodged another strong stab, but he anticipated her movement and backhanded her. She cried out, her sword falling from her hands as she caught herself on the ground. She tried to stand back up, but the man pushed her to her knees and placed the big sword at her throat.

"You shouldn't have messed with me, kid," he snarled. "Now you're about to die, and I'll take your mother"—I'm assuming he thought she was my daughter—"and after she's watched you die, I'll rape her and torture her every night." He cackled wickedly, and lifted his sword to deliver the coup de grace.

The girl's big blue eyes, lifted to mine. Her eyes pleading me to forgive her for this situation. I felt my heart nearly die when she finally closed her eyes and whispered, "I'm sorry."

Tears streamed down my eyes, and I shouted in agony when he brought his sword down. I couldn't cover my eyes, but I wish I had the courage to. I didn't want to see this scene unfold with its inevitable ending. Yet, what happened next still shook me to this day. Time seemed to slow down, and the sword connected with her neck. However, it did not rip through her skin. Instead, the entire sword shattered into a million pieces, and a curse escaped the man's mouth. The girl's eyes instantly opened, and an impossible blast of flame exploded around her body. The man flew back from the burst of magical energy, and he lifted himself onto his elbows and started whimpering. The girl rose to her feet, and I noticed her eyes completely changed. They were no longer sweet and innocent, but sharp and enraged. They held the intelligence of someone with extensive knowledge of battle, and all the dangers of someone lusting for blood. Her eyes once a soft blue, were now a glowing red like the flames licking up her body. Her fists were clenched at her sides, and she stalked after the man who had nearly destroyed her a few moments ago.

He tried to scurry away, but she lifted him by his shirt and held him into the air. _She was incredibly strong! _I realized. She leaned him closer to her face and snarled like a beast, flashing her sharp canines. "You ruined my day," she stated in a low menacing growl. The man started to cry, asking that she spare his life, and she lifted her fist. All the flames disappeared, but the fire remained in her eyes. "I want you to remember what will happen if you ever mess with us again." Faster than I could see, the flames earlier returned, only now they were focused on her fist, and she punched him square in the face. He flew out of her grip and landed on the boxes about twenty feet away. He would live but barely, and he'd be forever scarred.

The girl stood for a moment, her cold, calculating eyes taking in the bodies littered around her. When she was sure they wouldn't be a threat, she closed her eyes and exhaled, her eyes returning to normal. "F-fire…" Natsu managed to mumble behind her. The girl whipped around to him and giggled. She untied the duo, and they fell to the ground. Then, she walked over to me, her expression serious again. She refused to look me in the eyes as she untied my hands, but when I felt her hands trembling, I couldn't help myself but wrap her in a hug when she was finished. "I'm sorry you had to see that."

I pulled her back to give her a smile. "Are you kidding me? That was amazing!" She smiled meekly, but she still wouldn't look me in the eye. "I've never seen anyone use fire magic as great as that except for Natsu!" My eyes looked towards the dragon slayer, but he had disappeared. Worry washed over me, and I looked around for him. Suddenly, an idea hit me, and I looked at the girl.

She still wouldn't look at me, and a sad, regretful frown was plastered on her face. "I'm sorry," she whimpered again just before hands settled on my shoulders, and my world went black.

_**Present**_

**Lucy's POV**

"We woke the next morning back in Magnolia with no knowledge of how we had made it here. I thought about the girl relentlessly for weeks and searched for her, but after a while, I had to let it go. Natsu was just as confused as I was, and the entire situation made us both feel uncomfortable for multiple reasons," I continued to explain to the girls. They had been hanging on my every word, and as the conclusion was wrapping up, they were in awe. "I don't want to think about what might have happened if she hadn't been there, and Natsu vowed to help me train harder in case we fell in a situation like that again. And, we sensed how familiar everything about her was, but it didn't make sense until now."

Cana whistled. "Wow. It's crazy how everything just works out like that."

"Still though," Erza commented, "Natsu and his motion sickness is a weakness that could have gotten you seriously injured. It's something he needs to work on."

"Dragon slayers cannot control it though," Levi added. "Gajeel gets terribly sick whenever he's on transportation as well."

I agreed and looked at the clock. It was a quarter 'til six, and I jumped off the couch in a panic. "Crap! I'm supposed to meet Natsu tonight!"

Cana shot back another round of whiskey from the bottle she had found earlier. I still wasn't quite sure where she managed to dig that up from, but at the moment I didn't care. I raced to my dresser and pulled out my training clothes. "Mmm, hot date tonight Lucy?" Cana asked.

I showed her my shorts and tank top. "Not quite," I shot back at her, and continued to rumble through my dressers for a sports bra and socks. "I planned to meet with Natsu to continue our training. Since we're going to be fighting this sorceress soon, I need all of the help I can get."

"You are doing remarkably better on missions," Erza mentioned as I raced to the bathroom. I left the door cracked as I changed so we could still converse with them. "You're skills have increased, and I'm proud to call you a teammate."

"Thanks, Erza," I called from the bathroom as I wrestled out of my blue jeans.

I heard the clatter of the china being set down against the table, and Cana asked Erza where she was going. "I have a meeting tonight," was all she said as she strolled to the door and muttered a small thanks and goodbye to everyone before she left.

Levi giggled at a snide comment Cana made, and I finished changing and stepped back into the room. Cana eyed me up and down and laughed. "I'm sure Natsu doesn't have any problems training with you," she said.

I threw her a warning glare as I began putting my tennis shoes on. "Shut up!" I barked back at her. True, my shorts may have been a little too short for close combat, and yes, my tank top was low cut, and my breasts almost popped out of them. But, Natsu and I fought like this all the time, and he never made any comments about it being inappropriate. Besides, I was sure he didn't feel anything towards me as the others suggested.

Going along with Cana's line of thoughts, Levi finally betrayed me and said, "Maybe you should take your own advice, Lu-chan!"

I groaned and walked towards the door. "Whatever. You're welcome to stay as long as you want, and I know it's rude to leave you, but I have plans. Later!" I slammed the door, ignoring, Cana's derogatory hand suggestions and left to find Natsu.

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**Annd finished! So, how'd you like it? Of course, Nashi has to be super strong! She has a huge reputation to live up to since she's Natsu's daughter! But she has a few secrets up her sleeve that may change your entire outlook of this sweet innocent girl ;) **

**Next chapter will hopefully be up soon! Again, let me know how you like it. Bye!**


	8. Chapter 8

**Here we go again. I don't own Fairy Tail; Hiro Mashima does. Let me know what you think, and enjoy!**

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**Erza's POV**

I leaned casually against the tree, watching the sun as it kissed the horizon and enveloped my home in a lazy orange, setting everything on fire. A gentle wind passed among the trees, blowing my scarlet hair. A few strands blew across my cheeks, but I ignored them as I continued to watch the sunset. It was mesmerizing. Many below in the town bustled around, finishing last minute chores before the sun finally disappeared, and the moon chased away the warmth and encased Magnolia with its cold silver sheen. They were unaware of the beauty, and it saddened me to know that they took the small moments such as this for granted. Then again, they probably had never felt what it was like to have the perfect moment ripped from their hearts. They probably had never felt the despair of losing what was always theirs but they could never have. Luckily, it was not like that anymore.

I closed my eyes to block the tears from rolling down my face. It had been a hard battle, but finally, after so many years, things were changing. I'd learned to never take those precious moments for granted again. We both did. I heard him before I saw him. His soft footsteps approached eerily quiet through the brush, but I didn't open my eyes at his approach. Instead, I let him come closer to me. His hands found my face, and gently stroked the stray hairs away before he pulled me to his lips. My body trembled at his touch, and I finally opened my eyes when he leaned back. Blue locks fell into his gentle, yet haunting brown eyes. My fingers wrapped around his neck, and I breathed his name against his lips, "Jellal."

He smiled against me and rested his forehead against mine. His hands never left my face as they continued to caress my cheeks. "I missed you," he admitted softly, as if this moment was too fragile to speak. The truth being it was.

I kissed him once more, and said as equally quiet, "I missed you too."

With our hands wrapped around each other, we stayed like that for what seemed like hours. All these times we had decided to meet in secret at our spot on the hill side was still a dream. It was the one place we could hide from our guilds, and from the magic council and be alone together in this world. Though we could only meet perhaps once every few months, and each week was more agonizing than the next, being together finally was a sweet paradise that was worth the wait and the risk of being caught.

Unfortunately, we were not here this time simply to enjoy the company of one another. After Scarlet's frightening story of the future, I had sent a letter to Jellal to look into the madness of this sorceress. Makarov's rage and fear echoed into me, and I began to take drastic measures. Over his travels, I asked Jellal to find information and meet as soon as possible. Luckily for us, he had found what we needed hours after receiving my request, and we met when we could.

Reluctantly releasing each other, Jellal reached into the bag at his side and removed a thick and worn book. "I found this in the guild," he informed me, handing me the book. "I took the liberty of reading the journals written inside, and…"

My eyes took in his worry, and I took the text from his hands. Flipping through it, I beckoned, "And?"

Jellal shook his head and ran a hand through his blue hair. He released a long sigh before answering. "It's just as you said. This sorceress is not a mage that can easily be brought down. Her magic is something not even I have heard of before. It's dangerous."

I silently agreed with him as I continued turning the pages, scanning each one quickly before continuing to the next. "She uses manipulation magic to control her enemies and death magic to fuel her. I already knew this," I muttered. Jellal traveled to the dark guild that the wicked mage had taken over and browsed through the rubble to see if he could scavenge anything. Though there was no promise of anything surviving the war between Fairy Tail and the dark mage, he had found a journal of the previous master. He hid from her in secret, and thankfully written down the brutal account. It must have been difficult, but at least he was smart enough to realize that this type of power could prove lethal and should be recorded in case he was slaughtered. Looking at the sudden end of the journal, it appeared he was. "Morgania," I read from one of the last pages. "That was her name."

"I couldn't find anything useful about weaknesses or locations," Jellal added. "The author mostly mentioned how she manipulated others. She couldn't physically transform into anything, but she used their mind against them by creating an illusion. She made it appear as if she was a lost loved one, and she promised to reunite them so long as they fought for her. She cannot kill herself, but she has to make others kill for her to obtain more power."

"That's sick." I slammed the book shut and pinched my eyes closed. "What kind of monster would use that type of manipulation against everyone? Does she even have a soul?"

Jellal's arms wrapped around me, and I felt him shrug. "I cannot answer why people turn against everything they love," he answered, "but, I know once you lose something precious to you, and you have the opportunity to have it back, it's hard to refuse. She uses emotions against you."

"But that's Fairy Tail's strength," I argued, opening my eyes and breaking out of his grip so I could rant. "We are powered by our feelings and bonds. That's why we are the strongest guild. We may fight and brawl all the time, but there isn't a single person we do not love and cherish. How could someone who was a part of Fairy Tail turn against us and use it to their advantage? We've all lost something and honing in on that to destroy us…" My fists shook at my sides, and Jellal could sense the raw rage rumbling from me. I cut my eyes at him, and swore, "Anyone who would dare cross Fairy Tail as she has whether it is in the past or the future, is going to wish they had never been alive!"

**Lucy's POV**

Sweat clung to me like a second skin, and breathing was becoming a chore. My arms were weak from abuse, and my legs threatened to collapse. Yet despite the bruises forming on my body, and the exhaustion spreading like a blanket over me, I lifted my hands once more, defiance lighting up my expression. I would not give up.

A smirk played on the fire mages lips, and his sharp onyx eyes watched his opponent gleefully at my refusal to lose to him. He liked a challenge, and noting from the heavy breaths, he was enjoying every part of this. He punched right, and I blocked quickly, and then swept my other hand to knock away his other fist before it could connect with my side. My leg kicked up, becoming a whip and my shin met his side. He groaned in pain, and I took the advantage by following it with a jab to his stomach. He blocked, and noticed my exposed left side where my arms were starting to fall from exhaustion. He punched without hesitation, and I cried out. I started to fall, but I grabbed the pinkette, and we tumbled to the ground. Unfortunately, I ended up on the bottom. My side still hurt from the punch, but so was his from my kick. He grabbed my wrists and tried to hold me, but I bucked my hips and used my legs wrestle with him.

After a little struggle, I had managed to flip him, though our arms were still fighting for advantage. Being sweaty actually had its advantages though, and I slipped through his grip. However, he took this moment to use his legs, and I ended up on beneath him again. His hips straddled me, and he pinned against the earth. His breath reigned down hotly on my cheeks, and a lazy smile played on his face as he realized his victory. I exhaled deeply in defeat and rolled my eyes at his cocky remarks I'm sure were to follow later.

However, his eyes roamed down my body, and I began to feel all too aware of our physical situation. Warmth spread throughout me that had nothing to do with his unnatural body heat or the taxing exercise we just finished. Though I know I should have felt uncomfortable with the way he was looking at me, I didn't, and instead found myself staring at his rippling muscles. Earlier, he had stripped off his shirt, and I hadn't worried about it then but now it was distracting. With the sweat glistening against his bronzed skin and every muscle taut from years of training, I couldn't help but admire just how…_sexy_ he was. Mavis, he was hot!

His eyes flickered to mine suddenly, and I blushed at my own stupid thoughts, praying that I hadn't said them out loud. They lingered on mine for a second more than shifted to my open lips. Before I could stop myself, I looked at his own soft lips and wondered just for breath what it would be like to feel them against my skin.

As if sensing the direction of my thoughts, he leaned closer, his eyes curious and staring in open wonder. His lips parted as he whispered my name, and I felt my heart race inside my chest. I closed my eyes, a sigh escaping me as we became only a hair's width away. My body shivered in anticipation, and my stomach became as light as air as he breathed against me. "Lucy…" he whispered, and I found myself moaning from suspense.

His body left mine, and my eyes popped open from the sudden lack of his warmth. I stared around in confusion and he was bent over me with his hand held out. "Weirdo," he laughed, trying to play off the blush on his cheeks. I huffed and placed my hand in his, grunting in pain as he helped me to my feet, and I suddenly remembered the torture I had just put my body through. "You're getting good, but you're still not as good as the master," he teased. I knew the cocky comments would come eventually.

"Yeah, well we still have a few hours, and I'm pretty sure I could kick your ass before then," I shot back at him with more confidence than I felt. Honestly, the idea of sparring again made me want to die, but it was something to distract me from the hot moment we just shared. I tried to brush off the dirt and straighten myself, but when the pain hit me, I complained loudly.

Natsu laughed at me. "You couldn't beat me even if you weren't in pain," he said, "_but_, I will make you a bargain." I rolled my eyes. Oh this was going to be just great. What the hell did he want? "If you win, I promise that I will stay out of your house tonight and sleep in my bed tonight." My brows shot up. Seriously? He would give me privacy if I wanted it? "But," he sang merrily, "if I win…" He grinned wickedly. "I get to stay at your house as long as I want, and we have to shower together. Naked."

"Absolutely not!" I shouted, blushing madly at the sudden nerve of this guy. "Why the hell would you want to even do that?"

"What's the big deal?" he asked innocently. "You were just saying that you could kick my ass, so it shouldn't be a problem."

"It is!" I threw my hands into the air despite my muscles complaining not to move. "I'm not going to be naked in front of you!"

"You stripped down the other night without any problem," he stated with a lopsided smirk.

I cursed. "That was because I didn't know you were in there," I grumbled.

He laughed at my displeasure. "My point is that it's not like we haven't seen each other naked before. Now were just being casual about it."

"That's not something you can just be casual with," I complained and sighed. "Fine," I agreed. "But I'm changing my stipulation." He opened his mouth to complain, but I raised my hand to silence him. "If _I _win, you don't have to leave my house"—he grinned like a kid on Christmas—"but you will be my butler for a month and do everything I tell you."

Natsu laughed. "Fine whatever, but I'm not going to lose."

_Oh yes_, I thought. _You were_.

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**Hmmm... Wonder what's going to happen next ;) **

**Review and tell me what you think! Thank you everyone for reading, and I'm glad you're enjoying it so far. You guys are awesome, and it's so much fun writing this story! Until next time!**


	9. Chapter 9

**Thank you everyone for reading my story! It's been a pleasure writing it. I hope you enjoy the kids! I didn't know how to create them at first, but they've settled into their own personalities pretty well. What do you think about the names I chose for everyone? Let me know!**

**I do not own Fairy Tail, it's Hiro Mashima's. **

**Warning: This chapter may be a little dark, and some fluff at the end. Enjoy!**

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**Nashi's POV**

Gale leaped into the air, wind whipping furiously around his fists as he cursed his brother for some rude comment. Leevi used his Iron Dragon Slayer Magic and punched him in the face, and they started brawling in the middle of the streets. Honestly, boys are so stupid. Scarlet grabbed them by their ears and threatened to obliterate them if they did not learn to behave. They whimpered and promised to behave. Yeah, as if you could keep those idiots apart. Even Scar had her limits, but at least her threat would scare them for a little while.

When we departed the guild earlier today, we had vowed to return in the morning to discuss more about the threat we had been sent back to vanquish. Of course, Scarlet had insisted that we returned to the small shack just outside of Magnolia so that we wouldn't change anything else in the past and alter the future any more than we should. Though it was the right choice, I was reluctant to leave. Ten years… It had been ten years since I saw Mama and Papa, and just being able to see them, to hold them, to laugh with them again… It hurt too much to think about.

That night a few weeks ago when I had spotted them, Ever and I had been out shopping for food for the others. I had Luna with me, a stray kitty I'd adopted when we first arrived that reminded me of my exceed that I had to leave behind. Since Ever changed my appearance to look like Jay's sister—she did it to piss me off, I swear—with black hair and blue eyes, I stalked them in the shadows to get a better look at them. But when Luna, leaped out of my arms and started curling around Mama's leg, I tried to get her back, but they saw me. My heart was ready to jump out of my chest being close to them again, and then spending the night at the carnival with each other. I promised Ever I wouldn't expose my true powers, so when I saved Mama with my Fire Dragon Slayer Magic, Ever knocked them out with a spell, and we returned them to Mama's apartment.

I tried to ignore the memory of being with them again, but I couldn't stop my overwhelming desire to see them. I ran away from the group and snuck into Mama's apartment. I didn't think Papa would attack me, but it was a fun fight that reminded me of how it used to be before…

The group trekked through the quiet hillsides until the shack came in view. Gale and Leevi challenged each other to a race, and they sprinted past everyone. When they reached the door, they started arguing over who had actually won. Geez, they had to fight over everything! Jay kicked the door open, a wicked smile on his face, and Ever followed him out of the shack. She had changed her appearance back and had asked us to stop calling her Sakura as long as she looked like this.

"Actually," Jay purred, "we won."

Ever nodded, and she rubbed her chin. "And you know, I think the losers deserve some type of punishment."

"No! Don't!" the twins pleaded, falling down to their knees.

Ever ignored them and giggled as she waved her hand over the boys. They were enveloped in a pink smoke, and when it disappeared, I let out a loud laugh that echoed down the hills. Ever had a sick imagination. Gale was transformed into the future Wendy with long blue hair cascading down his/her back and a risqué bathing suit taut around her luscious breasts. He screamed in agony, but it wasn't his voice any longer. It was a high feminine whine that reminded me of the younger Wendy's voice. He wrapped his arms around his chest, a blush spreading madly on his cheeks. Leevi, however, had it worse. He was the rotund version of Droy and all he had on was a speedo that all but disappeared behind his rolls.

Jay fell to the ground laughing while Ever smirked at the twins, pleased by their despair. Leevi/Droy ran up to Scarlet and hugged her arm, begging her to make Ever change them back. She punched him in the nose, and he dropped flat on his back, clutching his face. "You idiots shouldn't have lost," was all she said as she stepped around the twins and went into the shack.

Cane whistled at Gale. "Looking sexy, Miss Wendy," he teased, winking at him. The Sky Dragon Slayer started to curse him when he noticed his voice was still girly and instead started to cry. This made Cane laugh harder, and he followed Scarlet inside.

I helped Leevi off the ground, glad that I had dragon strength even though it was still a struggle. Grunting, I complained, "You're so fat!"

"You wanna say that to me again, shrimp?" he growled.

With one quick punch to the gut, he bent over in agony learning all over again why he should never threatened me. "Try saying that when I'm not helping you!" I shot back at him. Most of his weight fell back on me, and I looked at Ever. "Could you change them back already? This bag of lard is getting _heavy_!"

Ever sighed, sad to end this curse on the twins. "Very well," she agreed reluctantly and changed the boys back. However, she forgot about their clothes.

Leevi's speedo dropped to his ankles, and I threw him off of me and into the bushes when I realized he was naked. He screamed, "These damn sticks hurt! They're poking me in all the wrong places! My innocence! I've lost my poor innocence to a bush!"

Gale screamed as well, but the bathing suit he was wearing was too small for his body and was beginning to cut off his circulation. "I can't breathe," he wheezed, grabbing at the strings. "I'm a damn sky dragon, and the air is betraying me!"

Jay and I almost keeled over from laughter. "And I thought _I _had the stripping problem," Jay remarked. He looked down at his clothes, relieved for once that everything was still in place.

"Give us back our clothes!" the twin dragon slayers shouted in unison.

Ever shrugged innocently. "Sorry, but I don't know how," she said as she waved her hand and disappeared inside. She was lying of course, but I don't blame her for continuing to punish the boys.

Later in the night, we had started a fire in the middle of the shack. Gale was using his magic to move the smoke out through the window so that we would not die from the carbon monoxide. Inside our small abode, we had very little for furnishings. We had a few belongings from our home that we smuggled with us before being sent back. Non-perishable foods were set to the side in one corner, cans and boxes stacked neatly so it would be easier to sift through. We had bought sleeping bags when we arrived, and they were rolled neatly against the opposite corner. Scarlet wanted everything organized. Even though she was our leader, there was very few things should could actually control, and the neatness of the shack was one of those that we had let her control.

A few logs were brought inside to act as seats, and they sat close to the small fire in the center. Overall, our "home" here was comfortable. We had been expecting to live in the forest under the cover of the canopy of trees, but when we found this abandoned place, we were very excited. Though it was small, it was something, and we were grateful all the same.

I sat on one of the logs, a cup of water in my hands and a blanket around my shoulders. Scarlet sat with Cane and they quietly discussed plans about tomorrow when we were finally going to begin tracking down Morgania. A chill of fear swept through me, and I pulled the blanket tighter around my shoulders as if I could keep it away. Ignoring those feelings, I focused on the others. Ever was watching the twins, a smile was always on her lips when she watched them. I could never guess if she had a crush on them or not, but I didn't feel like asking. Unlike everyone else, I didn't snoop into other's business, only because that would give them permission to pester in mine, and I never shared how I truly felt…

Since Scarlet was distracted, Gale and Leevi were plotting. They were being very secretive about it, which always meant trouble. Though these two were incredibly smart and resourceful thanks to their script mage mother, they were as dense as their father about being sneaky and most of their plans went completely awry thanks to their loud mouths.

"I said not there!" Leevi suddenly yelled.

"Then where? It's not going to fall _there_!" Gale argued back. Evidently, they were planning revenge on Ever that involved something falling on her. No wonder she was staring at them with that weird expression. "Gah! It's going to be ruined thanks to you!"

"Thanks to me!" Leevi cried. He threw his stick in the air that he was using to draw in the dirt. "Idiot! It's your fault they always fail!" Yep. Revenge plot. Those _always _failed, but it was because of both of them screaming about it.

"Idiot? You son of a bitch! You wanna have a go?" Gale growled, putting his forehead against Leevi's.

"What did you say about our mom?" Leevi snarled, and then that were at it again. They had lasted about two hours before fighting. That was a new record.

They began rolling across the floor, curses flying out their mouths like the punches they loosed on each other. Ever stood up and howled that fights were for real women, and she jumped in with them. Always looking for a fight… I sighed and pulled my knees under my chin. That's when I felt a cold breath on my neck. I jumped, fear coursing through my veins. The blanket and cup I held flung off of me, and I lifted my hands in a defensive posture, ready to fight. However, one look at the blue puppy dog eyes behind me and the wide cheesy grin, and I flipped from battle ready to irritated.

"Naaaashiiii," Jay sang. "You're so cute when I scare you."

I swiped a hand over my face and groaned. Why did this idiot have to think I was his mate? "For Mavis's sake, shove off Jay. I'm not in the mood for your games."

A heavy arm rested across my shoulders, and his fingers slid under my chin and pulled me to face him. "Oh, this isn't a game," he stated in a low voice. "This is love—"

A fire punch landed across his cheek and he flew back towards the sleeping bags. He moaned my name as if he were happy that I even touched him, which he probably was. Creep. My fists were held high near my face, and they shook in anger. Any mention of love from him always meant a night full of proposes. "I said I'm not in the mood."

"Aww, lover's quarrel," Cane mocked. Scarlet and him must have finished their chat. She still sat next to him, but now she was busy munching on a slice of strawberry cake. Where the hell did she even get it from?

"Shut up, Cane, or I'll take you down again!" I shouted from across the fire.

He laughed once. "Please, you cheated! If it were a real fight, I'd have you bent over and begging for mercy." His eyes lit up from the idea, and I swallowed hard, a blush forming on my cheeks.

"What did you say to my girl?" Jay appeared beside me, full of renew vigor. I swear his moods fluctuated like a woman's. "She's mine! And I'll die to protect her."

"Stop saying stupid things like that, Jay," I murmured to him, crossing my arms.

He gasped in shock and covered his mouth in fear. His eyes darted between Cane and I, and I rolled my eyes, knowing exactly where his thoughts were going. He flew across to Cane, and his body beginning to turn icy. "You stole my woman from me? You're my rival! I demand a battle to win Nashi's heart."

Cane laughed at his ridiculous outburst and pointed at his chest. "I'm not in love with her, but you're getting on my nerves ice princess. So, if you're itching for a fight, let's go!" They yelled at each other and started brawling just as intently as the others.

I collapsed onto the log by the fire, completely exasperated. Boys were idiots. Scarlet continued to eat her cake in sweet bliss, unaware to the chaos behind her. That was until Ever threw Gale suddenly, and he landed on Cane. Jay shouted that he won my heart—_not even close_—and Leevi tried to shut him up with an iron rod to the face. Jay was flung back and tried to catch his balance, but he fell onto Scarlet's lap, landing and ruining her cake.

Everyone froze and watched Scarlet's expression change from shock to fury. Her eyes honed in on the ice mage, but she spun around to the twins instead, daggers appearing in her hands. The twins clutched onto each other, screeching in fear. Cane hid behind Ever, but she changed her appearance into a cat and ran away. He squealed like a little girl as Scar picked up Jay like a monster on crack and tossed him at the mage. Scar joined the battle that had quickly turned into a one way fight, and I hid in the corner, knowing better to not be seen by the raging red head.

After everything had settled down a few hours later, the fire had gone out, and all that remained were burning embers. I could easily start it again if I wished, but I could see everything in the dim light thanks to my dragon sense. In the night, my senses became more acute, and I could hear the soft breathing of teammates as they slept and as they tossed in their beds. At this hour, I was usually the only one awake. It was difficult to sleep after everything we had been through, but the others had managed. Not me. The first real sleep I had was when I was with my parents again a day ago. Now, I was back to my regular routine of staying awake, watching the embers glow and fade out. Sometimes, I would blow on them to try to keep them alive just so I could have company. But more often than not, I watched them die, just as I watched everything around me perish before.

Someone stirred behind me and stood up from their bed. Soft and careful footfalls staggered towards me, and a warm hand gripped my shoulder. I did not have to look up to know who it was as they took the seat next to me and wrapped a blanket around my shoulders. It happened mostly every night that he would see me still awake, and he would join me. At first, I didn't welcome it, but now I almost relied on them to be with me. I needed to know that I was not alone even in a house full of others.

"I know what you're thinking," he said simply.

Of course he did. He always knew. During the day, he was a loud and annoying oaf, but there was another side of him that the others didn't know. A calm and serious side that had enraptured me when I first learned of it. It spoke of his past and adversity, and of the intelligence hidden behind those cold blue eyes.

I curled my knees under my chin and sighed. "I'm terrified," I voiced after a few minutes of silence. "Tomorrow everything becomes real, and the hunt begins. We're finally going to stop her…"

Jay slid a comforting arm around my shoulders and pulled me towards him. I rested my head against his shoulder and closed my eyes, soaking in the heat of his body. To others, he was cold to the touch because his power was still unstable, and he could not control the ice from leaking out his body. However, my fire could not be controlled either, and it warmed him, making him feel normal. "But, that's not what you're worried about," he commented, knowing my thoughts once again.

I didn't want to answer. It was hard enough to think about, but giving voice to my problems…it was impossible. Jay seemed to understand, and he wrapped his other arm around me. "You're scared about what will happen if we should fail." I nodded and felt his chest swell as he sighed. "It's hard not to think about it. Anything could happen. The guild might be too over confident, and we may bring an early end to it instead of saving it from a horrific future."

My hands gripped around his shirt and hot tears filled my eyes. "I-I can't…" My voice trembled, and his hands rubbed my back soothingly. "I can't watch it again. I just can't."

"I know," he said calmly. Jay was the only one I had ever told. The only one that knew how I had watched my parents die. Mama and Papa could resist the magic unlike most of the guild. They were strong, and Morgania knew it. She ordered everyone she controlled to kill them. I was hiding at the time, but I watched the entire thing. First Mama was run through with a spear, and then Papa was shot in the chest with a bullet. They had fallen to the dirty ground in the street next to each other, barely clinging to life. They held hands, and through my excellent hearing, I heard them whisper that they loved each other once more, before both of their lives were whisked away from this world. A few hours later, I had stumbled from my hiding place. All the mages had left to fight elsewhere miles away. I collapsed on the ground next to them trying to curl against their bodies, begging them to stay with me even though I knew they were gone. I remembered just that morning we were lying in bed, waking up from a long night. We were happy and laughing together. Then, the sun came up, and when it set, we were no longer together. I was alone.

My body trembled in Jay's arms from the painful memory. I was the only one to watch their parents die, and I was the first. Ten years. It was ten years ago that I lost my parents and never saw their smiling faces again.

"You're not alone," Jay muttered in my ear, pulling back from such thoughts. He swept an arm around the shack, and I looked to the others. "Cane never knew his parents and was raised by his grandfather. Ever lost her mother to Morgania, and her father went insane after. Jane's father had to kill his wife after she gave birth because of the manipulation magic still coursing through her. Scarlet's parents had tortured people, and the twin's older sister killed both her parents then committed suicide." I forgot about the twins having another sibling. She was a feisty girl who focused on script magic, but she went on a mission to hunt down her parents and never made it back. We learned the outcome a week later. "And then my father gave his life to protect me," he concluded. "We all bear scars from this war. Some may be worse than others, but we all fight the same battle."

"But you know what?" he continued. He grabbed my hand and put it over his heart. Since he had a stripping habit, and he preferred to sleep shirtless, his chest was bare. I could feel his heartbeat flutter beneath his skin, and his eyes gazed seriously into mine. "Thanks to them, we are alive. We are here to protect them, and even though we have had our trials, we survived. We have memories of what it was like before the witch. The happy times when we laughed and loved. Think of that when you are fighting because that is what we will have again. She can take away everything, but she cannot steal our love for our guild and each other."

Tears streamed down my cheeks, and a sob bubbled out before I could stop it. I fell against him, crying hard, but quietly. His arms embraced me once more, and he rested his head against mine. I felt his smile in my hair. He was right. The pain was everywhere in my heart, but there was still love, and I would fight for it with my life.

"Thank you," I sobbed into his chest. I didn't know what I would do without him here to hold me at night and remind me that I truly was never alone. He was my best friend, and I loved him though I would never tell him. Because honestly…he probably already knew.

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**Fin! Hope you enjoyed Nashi's POV! I think it would be adorable for these two to get together :) What do you guys think?**

**Up next, we find out what happened between Natsu and Lucy's bet! **


	10. Chapter 10

**Yay! Thanks you guys so much for reading! It's been a blast writing for y'all! Just wanted to make a BIG shout out to someone who kind of helped me make a huge decision in the story later on, IDon'tShipThat! If you guys have any suggestions about what you want to happen next, just let me know! Thanks again!**

**Warning: Lots of NALU fluff!**

**Natsu's POV**

"Lucy!" I busted through the bathroom door, a towel wrapped around my waist, and an eager smile grew long with the blush on my cheeks. "Time for a bath!"

A startled shriek rippled from the bath where the blonde was soaking. She was barely able to cover herself with just her hands. I started to laugh until she began chunking everything with arm's reach at me. "Get out!"

"But, a bet's a bet!" I whined, trying to dodge the missiles aimed at my head. A vase had been the heaviest objected she chunked at me, and I was unable to maneuver around it in the small space of the bathroom.

I caught the full force of it in my face and collapsed on the floor. Too busy groaning in pain, I hadn't noticed she had crept out of the bathtub until she utilized her signature "Lucy kick" on me. I flew out the bathroom and heard her slam the door just when I landed. "I won the bet!" she screeched. Though the door muffled her words, my dragon hearing let me hear everything clearly. "That means you're my servant!"

"But I just wanted to help get you clean!" I replied, rubbing my aching head.

There was a slight scuffle against the floor, and then I the door opened slightly. I smiled, hoping she would actually allow me to bath her, but then I heard those dreaded words. "Open gate of the maid, Virgo! Open gate of the ram, Capricorn!"

Her creepy maid and goat man appeared in front me, their eyes seeking vengeance. "Punishment, princess?" the pink haired maid asked. I gasped in fear, and Lucy snickered. Before she continued to her bath, she said, "You know what to do." I did the only rational thing I could. I scrambled for the window, screaming to get away. Goat man held me down, and the maid apologized as she approached.

For the next thirty minutes I continued screaming as they tortured me. And by torture, I mean the forced me into a damn skimpy maid's outfit, tied my hair with ribbons, and put make up on me while goat man made sure I didn't run for the hills. When Lucy finally finished, and she sauntered through the living room to find me, I thought she was going to die from laughter.

"Shut up!" I growled, disgusted with the sudden turn of events. I was a dragon slayer, and Igneel's son! I shouldn't be wearing these types of outfits, but here I was. My life was over now. I would never be able to call myself a dragon again.

Lucy closed her spirit gates, and I was all too relieved to see them go. The "princess" as the maid demanded I call her, asked me to make her dinner, and I disappeared into the kitchen. Thankfully, I knew a few recipes that wouldn't make me total disgrace. Happy always cooked at our house, but I learned to fend for myself when he started hanging out with Carla at night.

As I started the oven and began to prepare the food, I thought about how I ended up in this situation. Lucy had been fired up after we made the bets, and she became a formidable opponent when she was driven. She fought with all the vigor of Erza, and it was difficult to fight her. Of course, I never held back on her, but I still could have won. At the last second, I feigned tripping, and she took the opportunity to knock me out with a swift kick to the head. It had been a fun fight, but I purposely tossed it. Yes, I did want to bath with the blonde, but the way our relationship has been heading, I don't think I could have. She would have lost complete trust in me and hid herself. When I made the bet, I was goading her, wishing she'd make an interesting stake as well. I didn't regret it. I'd rather continue to be close to Luce, making her laugh and smile, than putting her in an uncomfortable situation.

"Dinner, princess!" I shouted, as I finished setting the table.

She strolled through, sniffing the air. "Mmm, Natsu," she moaned, and I pretended I didn't like the way she said my name as if I were the food. She took a seat and smiled. "It smells delicious!"

"It's an old recipe that I learned from Lissana when we were kids," I told her, and started to dig into my plate. Something seemed to make her squirm uneasily, but for her sake, I ignored it. "What do you think the kids are up to?"

She sipped some tea I freshly brewed and contemplated it for a second before shrugging. "Probably the usual. Leevi and Gale are fighting, Ever joined them, Cane and Scarlet are the only sane ones in the group. Jane of course is the only child that went home with her parents. Since she's a baby, Master didn't think it would alter the past too much. Then, Jay is probably trying to marry Nashi, and she's probably threatening him with some kind of fire punch."

Damn exhibitionist hitting on my daughter. At least she was able to fight him. Then again, they were all experienced fighters. It was kind of scary the amount of power they had for being so young, especially Scarlet. Nashi had beaten me at a sword fight, and she nearly took down an entire dark guild by herself at the festival a few weeks ago. I wonder where they had been able to hone their abilities with the world falling apart…

We ate in a comfortable silence after that, both of us lost in thought. When we were finished, I cleaned the kitchen, and Luce made me do a quick run through of the house with the vacuum. It was embarrassing, but I had to obey the _princess_. I grouched the entire time, much to Lucy's pleasure. She watched the whole time, laughing, and giving me pointers about how to correctly use the powerful machine. This thing must have been designed after Sky Dragon Slayer Magic. Realizing this, I challenged it to a fight, but the cords tangled and choked me. Lucy had to help get me out of its death grip. She put the machine in the closet, hiding it from me. She didn't know it, but I was already plotting my revenge. I would destroy the sky dragon slayer machine!

"Natsu!" Lucy shouted. I walked towards the couch where she was sitting. She patted the cushion beside her. "Since it's your first day, I guess I'll give you a break. Let's watch a movie together!"

That was great and all, but… "What about this?" I motioned at the dress, my hair, and the…make up. That by far was the most degrading.

She responded with laughter. "Sorry, I forgot." Lie. "You can change back, take a quick shower, and then we'll watch one. Besides, I need a moment to choose."

As she went to check out her shelf full of movies, I obeyed the one order of the night I didn't mind. I started with the ribbons in my hair, and yanked them out, throwing them in the trash. Next, I wrestled out of the maid costume, or at least I tried. After moments of not figuring out how to untie the back, I used my flames to burn it off. The pressure around my abdomen was released, and I took a large inhalation of air. Finally! I could breathe again. I started the water in the bath, and when it was warm enough, I jumped in.

Unlike Lucy's achingly long showers, I was always quick. I never understood just what she did in here for so long. An idea rang through my thoughts, and I felt a certain part of me tighten. Shaking my head, I tried to occupy myself with drying my body off, ignoring the semi-erection that had appeared. A few minutes later, it disappeared, and I crept through the house to the living room.

Lucy was watching something on her lacrima, and a wicked thought curled the ends of my mouth. Like a ninja—nin-nin!—I slowly descended towards her. She was so preoccupied with whatever show she was watching, she didn't even hear me until I pounced. I hugged her waist and fell back against the couch. She screamed in surprise and started wailing like a fish. I laughed as she continued to struggle.

"Natsu! Release me!" she yelled.

"Never!" I replied, squeezing tighter. She managed to look up, but she suddenly froze. Her eyes widened in realization that we were so close. The smirk that had been on my face melted away into seriousness. I gulped and looked away, but her hand stroked through my hair and my breath caught. Our eyes met again, and I noticed her warm eyes were looking at me weird. It made my stomach twist into knots.

It was something I had never seen before, or at least never directed towards me. Bisca and Alzack would sometimes catch each other's eye, and this same look would pass between them. I didn't understand it. It meant something more than friendship, an adoration that was far beyond that. It spoke of shared adventures, of countless hours spent by each other, of being together…of love.

But just as quickly as it happened, it disappeared. Another moment lost. Lucy cleared her throat, and she pushed my arms aside so she could sit up. She tried to hide the blush on her cheeks, but now I knew what it was for. Her gaze snapped to mine and she flinched. "W-what are you looking at me like that for?"

"Huh?" I wondered, and I realized I had goofy grin plastered on my face. A nervous laugh escaped me, and I straightened myself, scratching the back of my head. "You're such a weirdo." It was always my excuse at these times. She rolled her eyes at me, and I sighed in relief. The awkward seriousness gone. "So, what movies did you pick out?"

She looked just as relieved as I was. She picked up a couple flimsy cases on the coffee table and held them up for me to see. "It comes down to three. Beauty and the Beast—"

"Dragon!"

"It doesn't have any dragons in it," she replied, annoyed that I had interrupted.

"Oh."

"The Hobbit—"

"That sounds lame…"

"It has a dragon in it."

"That sounds awesome!"

"And then finally, Shrek."

"What the fuck is a _shrek_?"

"It has a dragon in it."

"Let's watch it!"

Of course when she said there was a dragon, I was thoroughly disappointed. She didn't mention that the dragon fell in love with a donkey, helped save a bunch of ogres, and started dancing at the end… Then again that sounded a little familiar. Except I didn't fall in love with a donkey.

The blonde had passed out during the middle of the film. She had curled up in the corner of the couch, softly snoring. I only let her lay there for so long because I was interested in what happened. A karaoke party was an epic way to go out, but I turned it off before I could finish it. I stretched my arms and a loud yawn roared from deep in my chest. I stood, scratching tiredly at my exposed stomach. Lucy was still sleeping, and I sighed. She could make fun of me all she wanted, but she could sleep through anything.

My arms carefully embraced her, and her head lolled onto my chest when I lifted her. The sweet scent of vanilla filled my nose, and I smiled down at the sleeping beauty. Her mouth was open slightly, and she mumbled incoherently as she dreamed. I suppressed a laugh so that I wouldn't wake her and walked to her bed. Being as gentle as possible, I placed her on the mattress and pulled the blanket up to her chin. She moaned, and I froze, thinking I had waked her. She mumbled a little more and rolled over, facing me, but she was still out. Geez, she her sleep could rival mine!

Her chest rose and fell as she breathed, and her lips trembled suddenly. My head cocked to the side at her weird behavior, and she breathed my name. Shock struck through my nerves, and I tensed. She…she was dreaming about me? Heat rose to my face as ideas stormed through my mind. My heart started to thud heavily in my chest, and my stomach was twisted in knots again. Dammit Lucy! Do you even know what you do to me? These past few days when we have had those heated moments, I never gave it any thought about the feeling in your eyes until tonight. And now I knew that even if she didn't know it yet, some part of her felt the same intense emotion that I did.

Unable to fight the impulse any longer, I curled under the comforter and just lied there staring at her. If she knew that I had joined her in bed, she'd for sure kill me, but it would be worth it. My arm encircled her waist, and I snuggled closer to her until our bodies were barely touching. I continued to stare though. It may be a total creep moment, but I couldn't take my eyes off the blonde. She was too beautiful to look away from. Her face was relaxed, and her body felt warm and soft under my touch. I looked at her lips, remembering how every time she smiled, her face would light up brighter than all the stars in the sky. Her eyes would sparkle, and my breath would catch as I looked into their depths.

I don't even remember when it started. One day I just stared at her, my heart filled with wonder and pride. If I had to guess, it had always been there. I had always known it, but I didn't know what to call it. It was the urge to protect her that had initially started it, but it kept growing. It wasn't until Gray told me what love felt like that I knew what it was. It hadn't been easy to accept, because I wasn't use to being close to anyone, but nothing else made sense. Finally, after a while, I knew it. I knew it without any reservations in my heart.

I was in love with this princess.

A heavy exhale escaped, and I whispered, "Maybe someday, I'll finally be able to tell you how I feel."

Without thinking, I reached up and kissed her soft hair. It felt silky against my lips, and as I started to close my eyes and let the sound of her breathing lull me to sleep, I imagined if her lips were just as soft. "I love you," Lucy murmured lazily in her sleep. I knew it was just a dream, and I didn't know who it was meant for. It could be anyone, but I was too tired to react to it. Instead, I pretended that it was meant for me, and I fell asleep with a smile on my face.

Lucy's POV

_This was a weird dream. _

_Ball gowns, tailored suits, chandeliers, and champagne glasses. It was just like the old days when I lived back home at the Heartfilia mansion, and Father would hold extravagant balls in hopes that he could sell me to the richest family's son. But, I wasn't home. I didn't know where I was exactly, but I knew it was a dream and allowed myself to indulge in the pleasantries of the finer life. Though I had originally ran away from all of this, it did not mean I never enjoyed myself at these balls. _

_A handsome man with raven hair approached with a genuine, twinkling smile. He bowed gracefully and asked, "May I have this dance, princess?"_

_Princess? I looked down at myself for once and gasped. A stunning strapless silver dress hugged my chest and waist, but at my hips a chiffon fabric poofed around my legs in many layers. The fabric glittered with every movement. My hands instinctively moved to my hair that was pinned back in an elegant bun and a few curls fell beside my cheeks. Something heavy sat on top of my head, and my fingers felt the sharp top of the tiara. I was a princess!_

_"Milady?" the man asked once again. _

_Realizing that I had ignored his question, I straightened myself and offered him my hand. "Of course," I replied._

_We spun among the dancers, gliding across the floor with such elegance it was if we were not even touching the floor. The slow tempo of the piano continued for moments on end, and my partner and I enjoyed every second. His hand was warm against my waist, and he held me close as if we were in a lovers embrace. _

_My eyes gazed outwards, and I noticed that the dancers were all gone. We were alone in the giant ballroom. I looked around suspiciously, noting that even though the music continued, there was no longer a piano. Everyone had vanished, and I was alone._

_"You're not alone," the man holding me said as we slowed to a stop._

_"But—" I started until I looked back at him and stopped short. Instead of the handsome man before, it was now Natsu. _

_He shot me a toothy grin, and he snatched me back to him as he started another dance. I didn't argue because I was too confused and stunned. He wore a black suit with a deep red vest that fitted him perfectly and somehow emphasized his toned body underneath. "You'll never be alone, Luce," he promised. "I'm always here for you."_

_"Natsu—" I tried again, but he shushed me._

_"And you know why?" he asked, his eyes glistening against the candlelight. He smiled deliciously at me nuzzled my neck. A moan escaped from my lips, and he laughed. "That's right, you've always known."_

_They say dreams were a way of your heart trying to tell you something that you didn't know. It was a way of it privately expressing itself to your innermost desires. My heart has been trying for quite some time to tell me something important that during the day my brain tried to ignore. I never thought it was true, and I was always denying it. Even though I was too afraid to admit it while I was awake, I didn't hold back in my dream._

_I smiled at him as I confidently stated, "I love you."_

_"I know," he whispered as his hands caressed my cheeks. He parted his lips slightly and descended towards mine. My heart began to melt as I awaited his kiss and desiring it for so long now. _

"Lushi is being weird!" Happy shouted, pulling me from my dream. I jumped out of the bed, screaming in fear. When the hell did he get here? I looked at my clock. It was 8 am, and memories of last night came rushing back, including the last moment of the dream.

Dammit! I had been so close. Grabbing a pillow, I chunked it at the blue exceed. "Shut it, cat!" I shouted.

Happy dodged it and spread his wings to try to escape. "Wah, Natsu!" he whined. "Lucy's trying to eat me!"

Natsu stepped from the kitchen to check out the scene, a dirty spatula in his hand and the scent of pancakes wafting from behind him. Happy rammed into his chest and clutched onto his shirt for dear life as if I were going to kill him which was totally plausible.

"She was just trying to eat her pillow, but I woke her up and now she's going after me!" Happy continued on. I looked at my pillow, noting the wet stain and cursed. Either I had started drooling in my sleep, or I was just making out with it.

A blush shined on my cheeks, and I crossed my arms, ready to deny anything else the cat would say, but it was Natsu who spoke next. "You don't have to eat people, Luce. I have pancakes!"

The thought of actual food made my stomach rumble, and I followed the duo back into the kitchen where a giant stack of hot pancakes awaited. When had he gotten so good at cooking? Maybe I should kick his ass and make him my slave more often. "Thanks, Natsu!" I said, sitting down next to him.

He shot me his signature grin just before him and Happy challenged each other to an eating competition. I snagged a few pancakes off the top before they could completely devour them. After twenty each later, they dropped to the floor clenching their stomachs in pain and moaning. I giggled at both of them.

"You guys always have to race over something."

"A-aye…" grumbled Happy.

I placed my dishes in the sink and waltzed back to my room to change. "Well, hurry up and clean the kitchen. We have an important meeting at the guild this morning, and you can't miss it!"

They were suddenly alive again and moving as fast as lightening. A visit to the guild always made them spark up again. Natsu quickly cleaned the kitchen, and though Happy questioned his reasons behind obeying me, he helped the dragon slayer. I disappeared into the bathroom for a few moments to get ready. When I was finished getting dressed and fashioning my hair in it's usual side pony tail, I stepped out to see a very anxious dragon and his cat.

"Let's go!" Natsu said, opening the window.

"At least, use the door!" I shouted, but it was too late. They already jumped through it. I shook my head. "Oh well," I sighed and sprinted out the apartment to catch up with them.

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**Yay! Nalu! Haha. They finally are starting to realize that they love each other, but are both too scared to admit it yet. Ugh! Someone needs to teach them a lesson. And, I wonder what is going to happen at the guild when they get there? It's all coming up next!**

**And as a side note/spoiler: I loved today's chapter in Fairy Tail! The ending was so sad, but I'm glad Gray's okay! I loved it when he thought about Juvia :) They are perfect for each other in every way!**


	11. Chapter 11

**Back again! I've been busy lately, but I finally had time this week to write some! The action is finally starting up in this chapter! Caution to those who read it: A little bit of lemon. Not much, but enough that small children shouldn't read. **

**Sooo... I'm just saying, but if you have any questions or concerns, please leave a review! I accept all kinds of criticism!**

**Disclaimer: I do not own Fairy Tail.**

**ENJOY!**

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**Laxus's POV**

Silver hair pooled around her like rivers of silk and reflected the dim light of dawn that began to pour through the window. Her soft, naked body tucked comfortably against mine and rose and fell with each even breath she took. My arms held her closer, and a soft moan was released from her lips when they traced over her curves. A delicate and sleepy smile curled her mouth, and those eyes I've grown to love fluttered open to find mine.

I kissed her gently, unlike the rough and hot moments we had shared last night. She smiled brighter beneath my lips. I pulled back to take in every luscious edge of her. Mira was like a rose. A sweet but dangerous flower, and one that I never thought I could have. Her beauty was renown across the country of Fiore, but underneath was magic as lethal as a viper. It was true and vicious power that could rival my own, and it made her all the more desirable. Beauty, wits, and power… She had everything I had ever wanted.

For years, we had stayed at a distance, never getting too close. We had grown up together, but we had chosen different paths. I'd sit in the corner of the guild hall and watch her, always wondering about her and what she was thinking. She was one of Gramp's favorite guild members, and personally, one of mine. When I fought against the guild to overpower Fairy Tail, I thought I had destroyed what fragile connection we had. However, after Tenrou Island, I learned that it wasn't so. Every now and then, we'd catch each other staring then one of us would quickly look away. When it came to women, I could have anyone I wanted and whenever I wanted, but with her…it was different. I didn't want to ruin anything with her or push anything. Then, when Jane entered our lives, the relationship finally began to bloom. I didn't hesitate. I cornered her in the back rooms of the guild and finally told her everything I felt for her.

_I've always admired your beauty, your strength, and your devotion to the guild. I've always loved you, and clearly, we realize we can't take this tension between us anymore in the future. We have a kid, and we are married. I don't want to wait until it's too late to celebrate this new life. I want to start it now and with you and no one else._

And I kissed her until both our lips were swollen, and she had pleaded my name in my mouth, begging for more than just a simple kiss. I'd happily given her everything she wanted and more every night and day since then. Now, she was lying in my arms, naked and unafraid or ashamed to be with me. She had admitted the same love last night, and we spent the entire night "celebrating" these new feelings.

Her silky, pale arms snaked around my head and pulled me into another luscious kiss and snatching me from my thoughts. "Good morning," she whispered against me.

I smiled in return and nuzzled her neck. "Good morning beautiful," I replied. My eyes roamed over her body hungrily, and I had to look away before I attacked her and repeated last night all over again.

Sensing my line of thoughts, she chuckled and hid her body underneath the bed sheets. I shot her a gracious smile then peeked over her shoulder to the lacrima lying on the bedside table. Jane's tiny body reflected in its surface, her small breathing the only sound echoing from it. I all but demanded to keep her with us. I wanted to know what it meant to be a family. To have something as warm as a child and a mother in my embrace. Scarlet almost didn't allow it, but something happened when she looked at the infant. Though it was quick, I almost thought they shared a significant glance before she looked away and told me to take Jane home. Though it was a wild theory to think that her and a baby could share such a look, I still had my suspicions that the kid was more than she looked.

I rested my head on the pillow with a heavy sigh, and Mira's fingers lifted to my face. "What's wrong?"

I shook my head subtly. "I don't want this to end," I told her. "The search begins today, but I'm worried about what will happen if the future doesn't change…"

Mira's hand hesitated for brief second before it continued to trace the outline of my jaw. "It may change and it may not, but that's not what you should be concerning yourself with. Even if we fail—which we won't—I'm still here. This chapter will not be ending. It's just beginning, and I will not ever let you go."

My body rolled onto hers, knocking the sheets away. She smiled temptingly up at me as I straddled her. Her eyes flickered to my growing erection, and I dove into a kiss, assaulting her with my desire. Our tongues wrestled for dominance, and I felt her body shudder with pleasure against mine. The sweet scent of her body's natural lubrication drifted to me, and I growled with all the terror of a dragon. However, she didn't let me ravage her. Instead, she flipped me over and took my throbbing cock in her mouth, sucking hard on the head. A hard moan escaped from somewhere deep inside.

"Mira… you're a demon," I grumbled just as my eyes drifted shut.

**_Several hours later_**

**Erza's POV**

My boot tapped impatiently against the guild's wooden floor as I awaited everyone's usual attendance. Jellal stood beside me, a comforting figure amongst my constant worries. We had stayed up late into the night with the master to fabricate a plan of action to draw out the dark sorceress, and how to finally rid Earthland of her presence. Everything had to be carefully considered, and just one wrong step could mean disaster.

A warm hand on my arm jolted me back to reality. I smiled up at Jellal. "I'm sorry," I started, but he shook his head.

"Now is not the time to be worrying. You have to be strong for the others," he said simply and walked off to the bar to order a drink for us from Mira. I sighed, knowing the task as a leader was a terrible responsibility. You couldn't express your fears in front of anyone, especially your team.

A loud rumble of laughter spilled from the guild's doors. I didn't have to look up to know it belonged to a pink haired dragon slayer. An angered scream accompanied him, and Lucy stormed after him, cursing him for some silly antic. Gray intercepted the fire mage, telling him to apologize to Lucy. Juvia glowered at Lucy, furious that Gray was concerned about her more than Juvia. Natsu challenged Gray since he didn't like the way the ice mage was talking to him. A scuffle started between the two, and I rolled my eyes.

I strode towards them, irritated that they would dare start fighting now. I tugged on their ears, and they started to whimper both in fear and pain. "Honestly! Do you two idiots always have to brawl?"

A blaring commotion started at the guild doors, and we all snapped our attention to it. The twin dragon slayers were at each other's throats, punching and kicking like the pair of blockheads I was still holding. Gale and Leevi continued to throw insults at one another until Scarlet came before them. She snatched them apart and pulled on their ear lobes. They started to whimper both in pain and fear. "Honestly! Do you two idiots always have to brawl?"

Her eyes glanced up, and we were locked in a chilling stare. She noticed the way I was holding Gray and Natsu, and a flustered blush grew on her cheeks. Our similarities of mannerisms were eerily similar, and she quickly chunked the two apart. She broke her eyes away from mine and walked into the room confidently, easily ignoring me.

The ice and fire mage slipped from my grip and ran for cover, but I made a mental note to punish them later. Jellal sauntered to my side, and he suddenly froze when he saw her. I had forgotten that they had not yet met. "Th-that…that's Scarlet?"

She could pretend I didn't exist all she wanted, but the moment Jellal said her name, her head whipped around to find him. Shock shattered her confidence, and she physically began to shake as she stared at him. Her brown eyes searched his body, unbelieving. Her hands reached up to the tattoo on her face, and a single tear trailed down her cheek. When it hit her hand, it snapped her back to reality, and her expression grew cold and distant once more. She hung her head and stormed out of the guild, anger and disappointment written all over her face before she disappeared.

Jellal and I stared after her, hurt obviously coursing through both of us. We stood in misery, lost in thought for a few moments as the others filed into the guild. Nashi joined up with Lucy, and the blonde began braiding her hair. Ever staggered in after the twins, shouting "Woman" just as often as Elfman shouted "Man," much to Evergreen's distaste. Gale and Leevi started playing cards against Gajeel and Levy, and surprisingly out played them. Jay was showing Happy pointers about approaching their woman and giving flowers instead of fish. Natsu and Gray were at the bar eating. Cana sat _on_ the bar with her usual keg. She was talking to Mira about Jane. Laxus was sitting next to Master Makarov, the baby in his arms. Freed, Bickslow, and Lisanna sat around a table chatting with Romeo, Wendy, and the exceeds. Macao talked to Wakaba, and Bisca, Alzack and Asuka were playing a shooting game.

Everything was perfectly normal. Except that Scarlet hated us.

I pushed down the tears and swallowed my pride. It didn't matter whatever frivolous emotions I had at the moment. What mattered was my guild, and we had far more important matters. Jellal helped me onto a table, and I crossed my arms as if they were a shield to block the emotions in my heart from spilling out. "Listen up!" I shouted, grabbing everyone's attention. "It's time we start discussing how we are going to destroy the impending evil and protect our future."

Master stood up and walked to the middle of the guild hall. Though he was nearly three feet, his presence made him feel as if he was taller than the very guild we stood in. He cleared his throat as he glanced around, taking a quick note of everyone present. "As you know, Morgania was subdued sixty years ago, by a few of the guild masters and the ten wizard saints. She was buried far beneath the earth in a cavern surrounded completely in a rare crystal that freezes time and nullifies magic. The only way to get her out is by using the three keys entrusted with the three Lords of Fiore. These lords hid the keys, and their whereabouts are unknown."

Jellal spoke up to explain the first phase of the plan. "The Lords were well known, but two of them were killed before they could pass off the location of the key. However, one has already been eradicated."

"Jellal!" Natsu shouted from the bar. "When did you get here?"

"Natsu! Don't tell me you just noticed him?" Lucy chastised him. "Seriously, shut up and pay attention."

Jellal, ignoring the outburst, continued, "One of the lord's had secretly entrusted the location of a key with his illegitimate son, and the boy grew up and joined a treasure hunter's guild. The guild has found it, and I've been informed that they intend to find the tomb it unlocks and search it for hidden secrets about their own monetary gain. They do not know what is actually inside."

"That must be how it was opened," Gale perked up.

"Aye!" Leevi agreed. "Those treasure hunting bastards always get in the way."

"We have to stop them from opening the tomb," Lucy said. "But how? Last time we encountered a guild like that, they made their dislike for mages very clear."

"We have to find the other keys," I answered her, recalling the time her, Natsu, Gray, and I had engaged treasure hunter's before. "They will not cooperate, so we will force them. By finding the other keys, we will bargain with them."

"You cannot possibly mean giving them the other keys!" Gray argued, leaping to his feet. "That's ludicrious!"

"We should go to their guild and fight for it back!" Natsu shouted and joined him, his hand already flaming.

"Sit down!" I yelled at them both. Their mouths snapped shut, and they sat erect on their stools like frightened children. "Of course, I do not intend to give them the keys. However, we cannot fight the guild. The Magic Council will arrest all of us for another war, and we will be stuck in jail while they unleash Morgania."

"So what do we do?" Levy asked.

Jellal crossed him arms. "The only way to cooperate with treasure hunter's guild is to bargain with them. You have to give them something more precious than the treasure they currently have. So, to get the keys from them would be impossible, so we will not bargain they keys with them at all. Instead, we will have to use another tactic."

"Which is?" Gajeel grumbled from beside the script mage. He was leaning against her, resting his arm on top of her head.

"We'll have to bargain something worth more than gold," I explained, a devious smirk on my face as I gazed at Lucy. She seemed to grow uncomfortable suddenly. "Lucy, I believe you knew another one of the owners of the key. Or, rather, you knew the lord's wife. The third lord passed away, and he left the key's location with his wife and son."

"W-who was it?" the spirit mage questioned nervously.

"Mistress Lilith Bennet and her son Thomas Bennet."

She groaned loudly as if she were about to be sick. "Shit…"

Jellal continued on with the plan. "Lilith Bennet is having a ball in a few days in honor of her son's twentieth birthday and has extended an invitation to the Heartfilia family. You will go in your father's place with an escort, and try to trick Thomas into showing you around the Bennet estate. We believe the key is hidden somewhere around the mansion. Gray, Juvia, and Jay will act as fellow aristocrats and take the place of the Lobster family. They are the cousins of the Heartfilia's and have not had much contact since their son's sudden illness. However, they are expected to make their debut at the ball. Your goal is to talk to the other nobles and learn as much as you can about the second lord whose key is also still missing."

Jay pretended to fall ill and slouched against Nashi. She shoved him off, and Juvia grasped Gray's arm, her eyes becoming hearts. The idea of being Gray's wife—even though it was pretend—started to make her go crazy, and she fainted in Gray's arms.

I rolled my eyes, and stated the next stage. "Natsu and Nashi also have an important role at the ball."

Nashi smiled brightly, but Natsu made the same sick expression that Lucy had at the mention of the Bennet family. He never liked dances, though I didn't understand why. He cleaned up good, and his dancing was okay. He was not as skilled as I was, but he didn't make anyone sick like I usually do so it was decent enough.

"Lady Bennet has been looking for a new husband to keep her company in her late years," I started again, getting pleasure from his horror. "She has a knack for desiring young men with children. When Lucy goes on her tour with Thomas, make sure you distract her. Warren will link you and Lucy so that when she finds a rather suspicious place, Nashi and Jay can slip away from the party to search it."

"Why Nashi and Jay?" Cane asked, suddenly appearing with a keg identical to Cana's.

"Because if the children are caught roaming around, it will seem more innocent and less suspicious. They can feign being lost easier than an adult," Jellal answered.

"Ugh… this whole plan makes my brain hurt," Natsu complained. "And I don't wanna have to deal with some Lord Lady…"

"Shut up," I snarled. "This is for the good of the guild, so do your part."

He mumbled incoherently and started to pout.

"Of course, Laxus and I will accompany you," Jellal said quickly.

Lucy looked at him curiously. "Why?"

Jellal and I exchanged a knowing glance and nodded. "The land on which the mansion was built is enchanted. Those who enter onto the land cannot use magic, and because we are almost certain that the treasure hunters may attack the ball, we are going to have to stop them."

"How will we know it's them?" Levy asked, her hands absent mindedly scratching Lily's ears.

For the first time since discussing the plan, Master finally spoke up. "We are going to set up hidden lacrima's around the mansion and watch from the guild which figures look suspicious. Gray and Natsu, you'll also have the job of engaging them in physical combat, but only as a last resort."

Natsu and Gray perked up at the idea of fighting, no matter how small the chance of it was. Hopefully, if all went well, then they wouldn't have to lift a finger.

"Gray," I started. "While you are learning information about the other Lord, we will be sending another team to his abandoned mansion. They will scour the place looking for anything, but they will be looking for a needle in a haystack until you learn anything interesting about him such as hobbies or peculiar interests. The other team is also at risk of being attacked by the treasure hunters, though we assume they will search there first."

The back doors suddenly exploded open, and Warren jumped through happily, holding out an arm ful of bracelets. "I'm finally finished!" he exclaimed. Reedus strode in behind him, holding out his paintbrush and palette.

The guild eyed the bracelets curiously, and Warren held up a thick black one and explained, "We researched the land Lady Bennet lives on and learned that it is impossible for the person to use magic. However, magic items are still feasible. Reedus created a bracelet for each of the members going to the ball including Laxus and Erza. I helped him by infusing some of my magic with them so that the person wearing the bracelet will be able to communicate with whoever they are thinking about."

He started to hand them out, and Reedus sat down, obviously exhausted from using so much magic. Lucy and Juvia compared theirs, and Natsu and Gray fought over whose was cooler, even though Reedus designed them the same as to prevent a fight. Nashi ogled happily over hers, and Jay didn't care, he watched Nashi's smile with growing adoration. Warren tossed his last two to Laxus and me. I caught the silver bangle with ease and observed its lightness and intricate details carved into the sides. I slipped it on just as the others did and tested it.

_Natsu! Stop staring at my ass!_

_Gray-sama is so hot!_

_Nashiiiii...loooovvve meeee…_

_Damn stripper messing with my daughter._

_What did you say about my son pyro?_

_SHUT UP! _I shouted through our mind connection. _It's supposed to be directed towards one person, so try and concentrate on talking to one person. _

_But wouldn't it be better if everyone knew what you were thinking_? Lucy asked.

_Do you really want to know what I'm think, blondie? _Laxus interjected followed by a series of frightening and graphic images of Gray and Natsu being slaughtered by him if they didn't learn to control their minds. Soon the connection quieted, but everyone's scared expressions said enough.

"My children," Makarov suddenly stated. "This is a dangerous mission, and I will expect you to handle it as delicately as possible. Do not destroy or harm anyone unless they become a threat to our guild. Even the kids are at risk. Protect everyone, and finish this mission as quickly and safely as possible."

Lucy gasped, and we all looked at her. "Master… we have the plans for the keys…but what will we do when we have them? How will we get rid of the dark sorceress?"

She watched Makarov expectantly, but it wasn't who that answered. "Isn't it about time to reveal yourself?" My head snatched around towards the doors where Scarlet leaned against the opening. She was eyeing Laxus…or rather what he was holding.

The baby suddenly laughed at her, and the guild was in shock especially Laxus, as the bundle in his arms answered back, "But it's so much fun!"

"Fuck!" Gajeel cursed and jumped. Levy held onto him in fright, then realizing they were hugging, quickly released in embarrassment.

Jane started to grow, and Laxus nearly threw her in fear. "It's okay," she promised, as her body changed into an adult. Her hair grew as long as Mira's and eyes the same color as hers reflected the giddy smile on her face. "Sorry, but I forgot to mention something important."

Ragged clothes clung tightly to her body, exposing every curve that made even me jealous. She cocked a hip and spun around towards the guild, an unabashed expression on her face. She looked too intensely satisfied that she scared the hell out of everyone by becoming something other than a child. "All of us are from twenty years in the future, and even though Scarlet is the leader, I'm the eldest."

"What the fuck?" Laxus finally exclaiming, finally snapping out of his surprised stupor. Mira appeared at his side, clutching onto him as she stared at Jane in astonishment.

"But…how?" she breathed almost too quiet to hear.

Jane simply shrugged. "There are some things we should probably mention before we get going on this little adventure of ours." She gave a pointed gaze at Scarlet. Scarlet nodded, and Jane finally explained everything the kids had been hiding. She started with what we knew about the future, how Morgania sought revenge, how she used her magic on us, and how she destroyed most the guild. Sadly, she told us the fates of each family, and I watched as one by one, the families began to cry. The parents were horrified at what happened, and the children couldn't bear to remember. When she explained Scarlet's story, I tried to look at her, but she had disappeared again. Finally, she finished with her story. "I know the story we told you originally about Laxus killing Mira, and it was the truth…partially. I inherited some of my father's lightening dragon slayer magic and my mother's take over power. As a babe in my mother's womb, I was able to takeover anything, and after one trip to a church, I accidently took over the power of a god. The god of time. I can manipulate his magic and transform my body's age on a whim."

"That's not possible!" Lisanna shouted. "Mira-nee can takeover demons, but gods?"

Jane lifted her hands in mock innocence. "Don't blame me for wanting more power than a lowly demon. Anyways, the power killed me and my mother, and my father used lightening magic to try and revive us. It worked…for a time. I was born into the world, but at the cost of my mother's life." She shot an apologetic smile to Mira. "Then, when the shit hit the fan, and the bitch Morgania arrived at the guild and destroyed everything, the last remaining members of Fairy tail developed a plan…"

Each of the kids' heads dropped at the sudden memory. I looked around the guild, noticing the guilt and despair from each of them. My voice trembled as I asked, "Who survived?"

Jane gulped audibly. "Only Makarov, Laxus, Gildarts, Asuka, Happy, Lily, Wendy, and Romeo were left last time, but that was before…" She sighed irritably and rubbed her forehead. Shaking her head, she looked up, and said quickly, "We did a mass unison raid, and they gave their last bit of life to help me send everyone back in time."

My heart clutched in my chest, and I staggered backwards on the table I stood. "W-what?"

"That's it?" Romeo demanded, looking at his dad across the guild. Macao shot him an encouraging smile, but he couldn't hide the worry in his eyes.

Scarlet appeared again, this time she was beside Jane, hugging her tightly as the blonde started to tremble and fought back tears. She was the one that answered for her. "Fairy tail gave everything to ensure that we made it back here in time. Everyone at home is dead and gone. If we fail this mission of destroying Morgania, then we all die."

* * *

**NOOO! They can't die! What the heck are they going to do? How are they going to stop this evil? Darn you cliffhanger!**

**How do you think they should defeat her? I need some ideas here guys. I have my theories, but I want to know what you think they should do!**


	12. Chapter 12

**What's up guys? Hope everything is going well. I have a couple days off so I'll probably be posting a lot of chapters soon! Today is definitely going to be a double post! **

**Things are going to start picking up really soon in the story! If you have any suggestions, please let me know! I love hearing what you have to say, and there's a good chance that I will use it in future chapters!**

* * *

_**Ten years ago**_

**Lucy's POV**

_ "They get along so well," Layla whispered to Lilith, not bothering to hide her laughter as Thomas chased me around the garden. I screamed in earnest, frightened by the little boy. My short dress swished around my tiny legs, and my heels clicked against the pathway. Michelle was squeezed tightly against my chest since I was protecting it from the teasing child. _

_ "Oh they do!" Lilith gushed, fanning her face quickly. Being overweight and in the heat never seemed to benefit the gargantuan woman. It always seemed too hot to her and these walks around the gardens always left her far more fatigued than it should. However, as she watched us running around the fountain, her mind was preoccupied for moment away from her piteous state. "I can't wait for them to be married!"_

_ My mother made a small sound that sounded close to a moan of displeasure. She was not fond of the Bennet family, but she tried to hide her distaste for them for her husband's sake. Lilith had not heard the noise, or at least pretended not to as she continued to watch her son._

_ "Stop it!" I whined, my breath ragged from the strain of escaping this boy. He must of the lungs of the dragons Mama always told me stories about! _

_ Thomas replied with a laugh and a roar, as he lifted his toy that resembled something cross between a bat and a lion into the air. Since his father was the owner of a toy business, the little brat was always making demands for new and erratic designs. "I'm going to eat you!" He was so weird! And I had to marry this creep one day? Just the thought made my stomach curdle._

_ With my mind distracted, I hadn't been paying attention to my footing, and my foot caught the edge of a brick. I wailed as I went down, but my grip on Michelle never faltered. I'd rather risk a scrape or two than let anything happen to my precious little sister. I landed hard and pain shot through my arm. I moaned and heard gasps as I sat up. Tears stung at my eyes, but I fought them back when I caught Thomas looking._

_ Our mothers raced forward to check out my injuries and help me to my feet, but my eyes never left the boy's. He was extremely upset over something, and when his mother put her arms around me, I instantly registered it as jealousy. _

_ A few hours later, we had retired indoors, and Thomas and I were exploring his house. When we found the library, I was overwhelmed by the vast volumes lined on what seemed like endless shelves. I wowed, at all of them, and Thomas took my hand to show me a secret room. He led me to a door far in the back of the library, shrouded in the shadows large bookcases. He opened it for me, but before I could ask what the secret was, he slammed the door and locked me inside._

_ With all my might, I knocked, clawed, and screamed desperately, terrified that I would never be free, and no one would find me back here. I hated that little kid, and some day, I would get my revenge unless no one found me. Then, I would die in this back room, alone and in the perpetual dark. New fear struck through me, and I doubled my efforts at the door. It never budged, and I screamed until my throat was hoarse._

_ It may have only been hours, but it felt like years until Thomas led them back to me. He claimed that we were playing a game, and he didn't know my whereabouts until he heard the screaming. Bastard! I should have punched him right then and there, but my energy was long gone. Father and mother gave an apologetic smile for the trouble we had caused, and we traveled home. Father chastised me in the car about needing to learn manners while at a guest's estate. I didn't listen to him. My mind was in a different place as I stared out the window. _

_ I was sent straight to bed as soon as we arrived home. The servants helped get me ready for sleep in silence, and then left quickly. I sat erect, still gazing out the window when Mother came in. She sat in the bed next to me and apologized for Thomas._

_ "I know the little boy had locked you in that closet," she said gently, brushing my hair with her fingertips. "My darling, I only wish I could have found you sooner, and I'm so sorry. Do you forgive me?"_

_ I nodded and snuggled into her warm embrace. "Tell me a story."_

_ She did. It was the same tale every night about the princess being locked inside the tower and her prince coming to her rescue. He had to fight the mighty dragon guarding the princess, but no matter what slight change she made every night, the conclusion was always the same. The prince and princess lived happily ever after._

_ She kissed my forehead, and I yawned as she tucked the covers around me. "Mama?" I asked sleepily._

_ "Yes?" she asked, laughing at my tired voice. It was a game we played every night. After the story, I'd ask as many questions as I could until I fell asleep. It was my way of asking her to stay a little longer, and her way of complying._

_ My eye lids started to droop, and I knew I didn't have much longer. "Why does the dragon guard the princess?"_

_ Her chocolate eyes smiled warmly at me. "Because he loves her."_

_ Slowly, I started to fall into the darkness, a small smile reflecting hers. Before I finally succumbed to the dreams wanting to take over, I said, "I want to be rescued and live happily ever after with a dragon, not a prince." _

Present

Lucy's POV

It was such a simpler time then, being enveloped by my mother's love and being told wild stories about the princess being saved by her prince. Though my statement had been the wish of a whimsical child, I couldn't help but think how twisted fate must be now that I found myself enraptured by a dragon and not a prince.

My indifferent gaze stared back at me from the reflection on the carriage's window. Past them, I could see the glittering lights of the mansion being lit by twinkling candles and thousands of dazzling lights mimicking the stars in the night. My dream from the other night floated into my thoughts, and images of chandeliers and wine glasses popped into my mind. I sighed. So I had returned to this. Tonight I would have to pretend to not be Lucy of Fairy Tail, but Jude's beautiful and available daughter.

Memories of Thomas sent a chill down my arms, and a voice perked up beside me too happily. "Cold, Lucy? Come to me, and I will warm you up with my love."

My fists clenched at my sides, and I had to will myself not to knock the lion unconscious. "No, Loke. Just be a good boy and pretend you're only my escort tonight, or else I swear by the spirit king, I'll kill you." I shook my head and looked back out the window, dreading our destination. "Besides, I can't be seen flirting with you."

"Ah," he purred and placed a warm around me despite my warning. "All the more reason to get out all our flirting now…" I punched him in the gut and threw him across the carriage.

**Juvia's POV**

Gray-sama looked striking in his black suit and crimson shirt. Though I had urgently insisted he wear a bow tie, he only agreed for a few moments, and then seconds later, he was picking at it absentmindedly, his bad habit starting to show. I had turned around to fix Jay's matching outfit and tie, but when I had turned around, Gray's bowtie was tossed among the bushes and he was nowhere to be found. Jay escorted me inside, and ladies crooned how adorable it was seeing a young man helping his mother.

_Gray-sama and I have a son!_

Even with him holding onto my arm, I could not believe that we had finally conceived a child. After more than a year of hiding our relationship, it was odd to completely expose it, especially for Gray. He was taking it harder than I was, but then again, he was the only way that hid it to begin with. Jay suddenly bowed and held out his hand. "Can I have this dance?" he asked, and I nearly melted.

We spun around the room, enjoying each other's company. It was so nice to have a son who shared the same interests as me and was not ashamed of his feelings. The way he pursued Nashi…it was so romantic!

Our laughs echoed off the marble ceilings, earning us a couple glances from other dancers. I shot them a cold glower, and they quickly looked away. The music started to reach its climax, and Jay spun me a few more times and then ended with a dramatic dip as the soft notes of the orchestra came to an end. Claps roared around us, and looking around, I noticed they were for us. Jay beamed up and me, and I blushed as we walked to the outside of the dance floor.

"Ah! So this is your lovely wife and son?" a man's voice boomed to our left. My eyes darted towards the sound and landed on a heavy set man. He was gripping folds of his too expensive cashmere suit, with a golden chain slung down from a pocket on the inside of his jacket.

Gray-sama smiled beside him, holding two glasses of bubbling champagne. His eyes usually so cold and calculating, sucked me in with their sudden warmth and mirth. He chuckled once before he strode over and placed a quick peck on my lips. My heart nearly leapt out of my chest. "Hello, beautiful," he whispered against me and handed me the glass. My knees began to buckle, but he placed a warm hand on my arm and shot me a warning look.

"What about me?" Jay complained, eyeing the glass with obvious want and drawing the attention away from the awkwardness between his parents.

Gray laughed. "Sorry, bud," he apologized, rumpling Jay's hair with his hand. Jay grumbled a complaint, and this made the man laugh.

"This young man must be Jay," he said, his voice so loud it was almost shouting. He offered my son his hand, and Jay shook it earnestly, glad to have respect from someone. "Glad to see you're in top shape kiddo! I saw you dancing with your mother out there, and it looks as if you had a full recovery."

"Yes," Jay answered diplomatically. "I do what I can to celebrate the brief life that I do have. The doctor's say the illness could return at any time, so I'm taking advantage of every moment."

"Ho-ho! Spoken like a true philosopher!" the man jested, slapping Jay on his back. He cringed under the might of the man's gesture, and I could barely stifle a giggle. "But where are my manners," he barked, looking me up and down suddenly. Under his gaze, I shifted uncomfortably, but his eyes soon stopped roaming, and he returned to my eyes. He grabbed my hand and kissed the top, and I nearly gagged from the saliva he left behind. Beside me, Gray tried to hide a devilish smile in his champagne glass. "My name is Rudderick van Richards. I've already had the pleasure of meeting your husband, Gray Lobster."

Gray grinned. "Of course! I—"

He stopped short when he noticed the music strike again, and a certain pair of pink haired partners joined the festivities. A particular obnoxious laugh made Gray shudder with fury, and I touched his forearm. "Perhaps we should dance?"

Rudderick glanced between the two of us, and Gray composed himself quickly. "Of course." He gave the man a knowing look. "Excuse us, sir, but I am at my wife's whim."

He laughed and waved us off. We placed our glasses on a table nearby, and as we walked away, I heard Jay engage him in a heated conversation about television shows that would be big in the future. Poor Rudderick had no idea that Jay was really talking about shows that were famous. When we were out of ear shot, Gray sighed, and his shoulders drooped. "Thank you," he said as his arms positioned themselves around me in the proper form of a waltzed. "That pyro is going to piss me off. Seriously, even at an event like this, he has to act his goofy self."

My hands caressed his face, and I pulled the shocked ice mage down for a kiss. He was still stunned even when we had started dancing. I rested my head on his chest for a moment and said, "Gray-sama shouldn't worry about the dragon slayer because he has Juvia and Jay by his side."

Gray sighed and kissed the top of my hair. "I won't then," he answered. "Because you're right. You are all I need."

**Nashi's POV**

"Cmon, Papa!" I tugged gleefully on his hands, begging him to join me for a dance. I had never had the pleasure growing up to learn how, but if I was playing the innocent girl with her single father tonight, I needed to make a scene to draw everyone's attention. What better way of doing that was there than dancing?

Papa complained at first, but when he saw the fire in my eyes, he started to mirror my own giddiness. Soon, we were on the ballroom floor, laughing and spinning in circles until we got dizzy and motion sickness struck him. Once he composed himself, he lifted me up and placed me on his toes so that we could waltz like everyone else. A few nonchalant glances around the room and I knew the plan was a success. My midnight blue dress was the same color of Papa's vest, but it complemented his white suit well. He had ditched his jacket when we started to dance, and his sleeves were rolled up to his elbows, emphasizing his muscles beneath. Ladies would be all over him soon.

I beamed up at him, and my heart jumped in my chest when I realized we had the same smile. We both laughed, coming to the same conclusion simultaneously. He continued to walk me in a slow and graceful dance, careful of how my dress swayed around him. When I finally got the hang of it, I stepped down and began moving on my own. Good thing I learned quickly because next, he brought me into a turn. It was awkward at first, but I picked up on it as well and soon our movements were flawless.

"How did you learn to dance so well?" I asked, recalling his distasteful expression ta the guild when Erza mentioned we were going to the ball as well.

He spun me again and opened his mouth to answer, when a small chuckle bubbled from beside us on the dance floor. He searched around for the source wildly, but I found it before he did. Mama was adorned in a silver dress that hugged her midsection, exposing her every curve, and fell gracefully off her hips and to the floor. Her hair was pinned up in an intricate bun, and two curls caressed her cheeks. She smiled brightly at the stranger she danced with, and her eyes sparkled like the glittering stars.

"Luce…" Papa murmured beside me, and I could hear his heartbeat skipping quickly at the exquisite sight of her. I grinned as I looked at the knowing glaze he was giving her, and happiness wrapped around me like a warmed blanket. He loved her so much!

"May I have this dance, my lady?"

I whipped around to the man suddenly beside us, and when I saw him, I nearly shouted in glee. However, remembering where I was, I tried to contain myself, but still, I couldn't hide my powerful grin. "Lion-man!" Loke looked at me confused, but I shook my head. Of course he wouldn't know me. I released Papa's hands and started to dance with the spirit my mother loved most. She would never admit it, but I knew it was so. Papa watched me, but only hesitated a second before he darted into the crowd. I smiled knowingly after him, glad he caught the hint.

"It's strange," Loke started, pulling my attention back to him. "When Lucy mentioned that she had a daughter, I could hardly believe it, and yet here you are."

"Here I am," I agreed, smiling. I was sure I had never smiled so much in my entire life. "I know you love Mama."

Lion-man flinched, and his eyes darted to Mama before looking back at me. He smirked all too confidently. "Well, you are from the future," he said. "I wouldn't be surprised if you knew a lot more about me than just that." He spun me quickly away, and then tugged me hard against him. "Now tell me something important…"

I sigh, knowing what his answer is. We twirl a few more times in silence as I contemplate my words carefully. Finally, I tell him, "It took a lot of time and heartbreak. There was more blood than tears spilled at some points. Enemies were erased quickly, and there was minimal contact. However, when you met me for the first time, everything changed. It's like you accepted it finally, and after that, everything returned to normal, except you were more protective of me than her in the end. When my parents were killed, you kept me hidden and silent until it was safe. When they were gone, you looked after me."

I could feel tears start to form, and I tried to push these emotions of pain down. Loke suddenly embraced me, freezing in the middle of the dance floor. A few suspicious glances were shot our way, but neither of us cared.

"I understand that it wasn't easy…" he whispered softly. "Lucy told me about it on the way here, and I'm glad that even after everything, that I was still able to help you when she couldn't. I know she would have wanted that, for someone to be beside you. I'm not even close to being ready to let her go yet…but I'm glad that I have you with me in the future."

I sniffle and wrap my arms tightly around him. "Of course! You're my big brother Loke!"

I could feel his smile, and before I could enjoy our reunion, the song ended, and he escorted me away from the floor. He bowed to me and excused himself to go think about my words. I bid him farewell just as a cold yet warming hand slip into mine. Goosebumps crawled pleasantly up my arms, and I heard Jay ask, "Dance with me, my love?"

I turned to him, another bright smile on my face. He was striking in his dark suit, and I was already pulling him into a dance before I answered excitedly. "I thought you would never ask!"

**Lucy's POV**

Clapping erupted around us as the third song this evening concluded. I curtsied low to my partner and thanked him for a lovely time. He murmured a likewise compliment before he drifted into the sea of people inspecting the dancers. I had not spotted Thomas or even Lady Bennet yet, but I'm sure their dramatic entrance would be made shortly.

The gently tug of harp's strings signified the beginning of the next dance, I noticed the song from one of Lyra's many tunes she used to play me back before I had first joined the guild. It was a beautiful song about passionate love and heroes. I found myself swaying to its gentle rhythm, my eyes closed as I listened. I could barely recall the lyrics, but it had always been one of my favorites.

Warm hands glided against my skin, and with my eyes still closed I felt my feet gracefully moving with theirs, my hands, sliding up the steely muscles of their chest, and looping around the capacious shoulders. With each movement and touch, his body shuddered, and I bit back a laugh. My hand traced his chest, and I felt his heart beating rapidly against his chest. The dance pulled us together, and I nuzzled into him, the comforting smell of spice and smoke surrounding me. We separated, and I opened my eyes as the dance made us switch partners. I linked arms with a stranger with blonde hair, and he looked hungrily down at my chest. Ignoring him though, I only stared back into the onyx eyes of my partner.

The stranger and I spun once more and we shifted back to our original pairs. As I approached him, I felt something in my chest stir. My heart was flying, and a strange heat started to spread through my body like wild fire. When our hands intertwined, it only intensified, and I found myself unable to look away from his tanned face and beautiful eyes. I could sense the same unwilling desire coursing through him. The tempo began to quicken, and I was snatched away again by a partner, but our eyes still held. I could feel cold hands against my skin, but I didn't register Gray even when he mumbled, "You two need to get a room."

My partner fought his way back to me, such as the song suggested. This was the dramatic part of the song when the hero came for his lover, but she was being taken away from him. I switched arms with many different men, but I couldn't look away from those eyes. The song paused a moment, and suddenly I found myself before him. The harp plucked delicately and softly caressing its dancers with its song. The hero finally found his love, and it was almost a dream.

His hands reached for me and traced my cheeks, wiping away a tear I did not know had fallen. He stepped closer, our bodies barely touching. His eyes were heavy and spoke years of his longing. After the adventures we had, and the stories we made together, it all came crashing down to this moment, it was felt too surreal. The song was our life. Our searching and needing struggle we both shared, and we both never realized until this moment that everything we had been searching for was right in front of us the entire time. He needed someone who would stay with him. I needed someone who would be there for me.

Isn't that what love was?

_Lucy_, he whispered through the bracelets.

_Natsu_, I all but whimpered back, needing him to feel my longing for him.

His eyes flickered to my lips, breaking our connection for the first time since we started this dance. Without knowing it, I too looked down at those smooth lips slightly parted. His warm breath spilled over my cheeks as he descended towards me. I close my eyes, and lean forward, wanting more than anything to show this dragon how much of a fool I have been for not realizing it sooner. For not saying every day since the day we met that I—

Trumpets blared across the room, and I nearly jumped out of my skin. Natsu searched around, his fists clenched and ready for a fight. He looked at him curiously, and then he looked back at me, a blush on his cheeks.

He laughed through the mind connection and said, _I guess this lack of magic is making me a little crazy._ He scratched the back of his head, shooting me a grin before he shot into the crowd to find our daughter. I fumed. Dammit! This tension between us has got to end soon!

If we had made a scene earlier, no one seemed to notice or remember any more. Their attention was stuck only on the double descending stair case at the front of the room. How I had missed this when I entered the mansion was beyond me. Then again, this place looked a lot different when I was ten. At the top of the stairs stood the stars of the ball: Lady Bennet and Thomas. At the sight of him, my stomach started churning, and I wished more than anything to go back a few minutes ago and finish what I had started.

Lady Bennet's voice echoed across the grand ballroom as she welcomed everyone for attending. She introduced herself and then her son. Thomas nodded and bowed uncomfortably. While his mother still looked the same as ever, Thomas had grown to be a half decent looking man. It was a stretch, but he wasn't too terrible to look at. A grin played on my lips as everyone cheered, and the two walked down to join the rest of the guests. Thomas's head was bent low, and even at this distance, I could see his ears and cheeks starting to turn pink from all the attention. He was always shy when we were kids, even if he was a dumb manipulative bastard. Hmm... a good looking woman meets a shy boy with low self esteem? This was going to be too easy.

I started my descent towards the Lady and her son, confidence shining brighter than the jewels on my neck. Through my silver bangle, I sent everyone one message: _It's go time._

* * *

**Here we go... finally! Some action! Let's see if Lucy can use her seductive ways to charm her old nemesis. Maybe even get some payback for ten years ago? And I wonder if Natsu can take his mind off Lucy long enough to concentrate on his objective. Will he screw this up? Or will Gray be the one to start a commotion? Will any of this even happen?**

**I don't know! You'll have to read to find out hahaha**


	13. Chapter 13

**Okay! Story time!**

**Disclaimer: I don't own Fairy Tail... It's Hiro Mashima's. **

* * *

**Scarlet's POV**

"Move out!" I barked, pointing over the hills that led to the lord's manor. The cobblestone village we were sneaking through reeked of death, and I wasn't too keen on learning the identities of the poor souls lost in the once vibrant place. Makarov told me before I left the Lord Henry Guffrey was a sick man in his old age. The small houses outside his home used to contain lovely and gentle people, but when he changed, he ordered them all killed by his guards.

That was only five years ago according to the master. Yet, time did nothing to camouflage the damage left by Guffrey. The whole situation made my nose wrinkle in disgust. It reminded me too much of the future Magnolia with its streets of blood and nights of dying screams. My heart clenched, and I growled in irritation of the stupid reaction.

This was ridiculous. I needed to stop having emotions. They caused more harm than good, and they were the reason why Erza and Jellal had—

I pulled up short, letting my team search the ruins of the village while I shook in the shadows. _Stop it!_ I shouted at myself. _Stop feeling. No emotions, always remember that!_

Taking a steady breath, I pinched my eyes close and released the tension building up in my body. I exhaled and started to relax. My eyes opened again, and I pulled my pack tighter on my shoulders as if the heavy weight could erase the ache in my heart. I had to forget it all. I could not feel or else I would lose to Morgania just like the rest of Fairy tail. They were always ranting about the power of emotions, but where did that get them? They're all dead. I am not like them. I will not allow myself to be manipulated by the dark sorceress. I will do what everyone could not. I will defeat her.

_It's just up ahead,_ Cana spoke cautiously through our mind link. We were also given bracelets, but it was only because Warren had to stay with the guild so that he could communicate between those at the ball and us. He couldn't be at two places at once unfortunately.

My boots stomped heavily on the pavement that led to the manor and sticks and dried leaves crumbled beneath every step. I could be quiet if I wanted, but there was never any point to. I could defeat anything that came my way, and if the hunters were here, the noise would draw them towards us.

Lost in my thoughts, I hadn't noticed that we had arrived until I stepped into a giant looming shadow that sent a shiver of fear through my nerves. I bit it back and stepped in front of the team with hands on my hips and stared at them, radiating confidence that I truly didn't feel. Jane, Cana, Cane, Erza, and Wendy were part of the extraction team that was sent to the pathetic place. As much as I didn't want to be around most of them, especially Erza, I had to push away whatever I felt and focus on our mission.

"We'll cover more ground if we split up," I told them. "Jane and Cana can search the grounds out here and inform of any suspicious activity while Wendy and…Erza—" I hated the way my heart squeezed painfully in my chest when I said her name—"will cover the left side of the house. Cane and I will check out the opposite end."

"What if we run into trouble?" Cana asked.

I scoffed, a rare smirk playing on my lips. "You're with some of Fairy Tail's strongest. Don't doubt your teammate's ability. Whatever you do, don't separate from your partner. If you happen to find something, use your flares and bracelets to communicate. Besides, we don't know what kinds of monsters are lingering inside…"

Images of horned beasts and giant spiders raced through my mind, but the thoughts were not mine. I glowered at the small sky dragon slayer that was whimpering in fear. Erza pulled her into a tight one armed hug. "It's okay, Wendy," she soothed, "I'm here to protect her."

My heart seized again, and I turned away from them before they saw the tears starting to form in my eyes. "Let's just go," I seethed, and starting stomping away. I felt the weight of my mother's eyes on my back, but I never turned around. It was hard enough to put one foot in front of the other as I slid through the slipshod front doors barley hanging on the hinges.

**Lucy's POV**

I continued to dance through multiple songs, making light conversation with each of my partners. They were all handsome in their own way, and while we flirted and laughed, it was nothing as intense as the dragon slayer holding me earlier. Thomas had been bombarded with patrons as soon as he and his mother touched the ballroom floor. I had suspected as much, so I continued to flaunt my beauty and draw the attention of the men around me. Eventually, they dispersed, and Thomas had disappeared into the crowd somewhere, but I didn't have to look for him to know that my clever tactic had worked.

At the ending of another cheerful and beautiful song, I curtsied to my partner and allowed him to escort me away from the many on lookers. While dancing was enjoyable, I was not use to wearing heels all night long. I excused myself and walked to the refreshment table to have a glass of champagne. I didn't want alcohol because I'll admit that I'm a light weight, but this place didn't serve anything else. Settling with the glass nearby, I sipped it carefully and turned to spectate the room when someone bumped into me, spilling a little of the glasses content onto my dress.

"Hey! Watch where you're walking you klutz!" I fumed, setting the glass down on the table. Luckily, the champagne didn't spill onto the dress, but I was still mortified that it was on my chest.

"Oh, dear! I'm so sorry!" a man stuttered apologetically. "Please. Let me help!"

I was too distracted with the liquid to realize what he had said when he pulled out a handkerchief and started swabbing the liquid. My cheeks turned a maddening red, and I slapped his hand away. "Excuse me! You do not just start—" My voice caught in my throat when I looked at his sweaty face and slicked back black hair.

He laughed nervously with his eyes closed and scratched the back of his head. "I'm terribly sorry. My mother always told me I was terrible with manners when it came to manners," he said. He held out a hand, "By the way, I'm—"

"I know very well who you are," I muttered, trying to hide the growing resentment in my voice. Memories took me back ten years ago again, and I huffed angrily.

His beady eyes opened then, and he cocked his head curiously at me. "Who—" he started, but it suddenly donned on him. "Pigtails!"

I rolled my eyes at his childish nickname for me. I had forgotten about it until then how my mother always seemed to dress me up with twin pigtails. Trying to force away the past from my mind, I laughed. "Of course! I can't believe you didn't recognize me Thomas."

He grinned widely and rubbed his chin. "Come to think of it, I saw a gorgeous blonde dancing earlier, and I couldn't take my eyes off of her. When I tried to find her after the last dance, she was nowhere to be seen. I thought my Cinderella had run off on me." He laughed. "I never dreamed it could be my oldest friend coming back to haunt me."

_Friend? Since when were we friends?_ I thought, but continued to play the charming roll. "Never thought I would actually run into you…literally." We laughed together.

"You know, I have to make my rounds and speak with my guests," he started, holding out his hand. "I need a beautiful woman on my arm though. What do you say?"

"I say that I still have champagne on me," I griped, pushing out my chest a _little _more than necessary. His eyes widened as he stared. Geez, he was terrible with women. This just got easier for me. I wiped away the remaining liquid, perhaps making more of a spectacle of it than I should as he continued to ogle at my breasts. When I was finished, I giggled nervously like a school girl, and hooked my arm around his. "Let's go greet them, shall we?" I purred in his ear.

He all but started drooling. So, this is how Gray must have felt when Juvia first came to the guild…

* * *

"And then I said, "Sir! That is not a horse, but an ass!"" roared Rudderick van Richards. The group barked laughter with him, and I giggled, squeezing Thomas's arm tighter.

Thomas had steered me around to many different parties, but when we circled around to a small party of high lords and ladies, I begged him to stay a moment longer. Only because, this also happen to be where Gray, Juvia, and Jay were. It was nice to see a familiar face amongst all these strangers, and since I was disgusted by this way of life now, they were a small comfort and reminder that it was only for tonight.

Juvia was running her hands through Jay's hair, and Gray was leaning on Rudderick's shoulder like they were old pals. "It's not my ass it's yours!" he jested back at the fat lord. The group broke out into another fit of laughter, and I chuckled for the benefit of keeping up appearances. Honestly, I stopped listening to the joke a long time ago.

"So Miss Heartfilia," Rudderick asked, "you are cousins with this lovely Lobster family?"

My eyes darted between the trio, and I smiled brightly. "Yes, we are very close."

Thomas laughed at my side. "I had no idea that your family was actually funny," he said. "They always seemed like stiffs to me back in the days when they were still trying to marry us."

I fought back the urge to back hand him for talking rude about my family. _Easy, Luce, _Gray warned, sensing my mood. I gave Thomas a tight lipped smile. "Yes," I agreed despite my better judgment. "Of course, it was a foolish idea for our mothers to try to match us together so young."

"But who knew such an ugly duckling would grow into a swan!" Thomas shouted, laughing like it was the funniest joke he made in his entire life.

I opened my mouth to argue back, but someone saved me the trouble. "Thomas!" a shrill voice cut through the air, and Thomas cringed. He turned around to see his mother glaring at him. Her olive green dress made her pale skin look sickly, and her brown greasy curls were pushed back in a messy bun. "It is not nice to speak to a lady like that! Especially one from the Heartfilia family!"

_My family name is such a blessing,_ I thought sarcastically. Juvia giggled across from me, and I realized I said it to everyone. I spun towards the woman I have not seen in many years and greeted her with a bright smile. "Lady Bennet!" I cooed. "It's a pleasure to see you after so long."

"Ah, Lucy!" she beamed and pulled me into a quick hug. I was relieved to be a step away from Thomas, but to be embraced by his mother didn't feel exactly like a luxury either. "My, have you grown! You're so beautiful and such a perfect match for my son!"

Gag me. I'm sure an indecent expression crossed my face, but I couldn't fight it back. The thought of being this idiot's wife was enough to make me sick. Lilith smiled disapprovingly, but a pink haired girl bobbed up to her side. "Mama!" she sang lovingly.

My heart clenched in fear. Oh crap, Nashi! Don't call me that! If they knew or suspected that I had a daughter, this mission would be ruined. Heat burned every inch of my skin, and I tried to come up with some quick excuse but froze when Lilith laughed.

She embraced the small girl and kissed her forehead. "I found this darling lost and wandering the halls earlier. She said she was looking for her father," she explained, and my shoulders slumped in relief. Lilith looked around but couldn't find who she was looking for. "I haven't spotted him dear, but I'm sure— Ah! There you are my darling!"

The air around me bristled, and I knew without looking who was approaching from behind me. Natsu shrugged into view, and I tried not to stare too long at him. He scratched the side of his face in mock embarrassment. "Sorry, I kept losing you in the fray of people," he said to Lilith as Nashi bounced beside him. She hugged his waist, and he shot her a genuine smile. A blush formed on my cheeks despite my wishes, and a small grin grew. They were adorable together like a painting of the perfect father and daughter. I thought it was weird how Lilith was a prowler for single fathers, but even I had to admit the picture was alluring. So much affection and pride radiated off of him when he looked at his daughter…

_Our daughter_.

Thomas suddenly yanked on my arm and glared at the two. Evidently, he didn't seem to agree with the matching of his mother and this fiery young man. "Mother!" he whined. "That's so gross! He's too young for you!"

"And she's too beautiful for you," Lilith shot back, and I choked on a laugh. Natsu didn't bother to hide his pleasure at her words, and he grinned devilishly at the boy holding onto me. Lilith stroked her hand against Natsu's arm, and all his glee flickered off his face quickly. She grabbed his head and yanked it against her chest so that he was nearly being suffocated by her breasts. She blushed madly and sighed. "Do you hear the rhythm of my heart? Only you can make it beat so hard."

_I think I'm going to be sick,_ Gray commented.

_Why does it always have to be? _Natsu cried.

Nashi laughed through the connection. _Just keep doing whatever you're doing!_

Thomas spun me around so that we were no longer looking at them. Instead, we were facing the group from earlier. They seemed unaffected by the disgusting view behind us, and Rudderick was making small talk with a gray haired man beside him. Gray's attention snapped to them immediately, and when I started to listen in on their conversation, I knew why.

"Can you believe they just left Henry Guffrey's estate like that? It's completely trashed!" the old man was saying.

Rudderick shook his head. "It's a shame. Henry was such a nice fellow, but after that war he was involved in, he just snapped."

"I heard he became a monster," a sultry brunette spoke beside him. She must have been the older man's guest because she never left his side. Sick. "They say after he ordered his guards to murder the villagers just outside his home, and then realizing what he had done, he killed all of his guards with some kind of dark power."

"That's nonsense," the older man said. "I knew Henry his whole life. He didn't possess a single ounce of magic or courage, so he couldn't have killed his guards."

"Does anyone know why he snapped?" Juvia asked, her hands resting on Jay's shoulders.

"He may have been possessed," I mentioned, catching everyone's attention. Thomas looked at me like I was mad, but I ignored him as I continued to explain. "Even without magic power he is still susceptible to possession. Even more so since he didn't have magic." If that were true then… No. It couldn't be. Could it?

Lilith appeared beside us, and grumbled a curse. "Mages are the worse. They are always ruining our ways of society and bringing evil into the world."

Her words caught the team's attention. Natsu was holding onto Nashi's hand, and I noticed her squeeze it hard when he started to shoot daggers at her from his eyes. She was his anchor tonight. If no one could keep him calm, then we were doomed to fail. Gray, never one to be kept quiet either, suddenly spoke, "Good thing your mansion was built on the enchanted grounds."

No one but us could hear the venom and sarcasm in his voice. Lilith beamed at him as if he were a clever child. "It's wonderful don't you think? Mages are completely powerless when they come here."

"I bet those bastards couldn't even fight without magic," Rudderick suddenly said, seeming to grow larger with his ego. "I bet I could probably take down an entire guild with my bare hands."

"Perhaps we should invite some here?" the old man piped in, laughing. "We could rid the earth of a few mages at a time."

The group around us erupted into laughter, but they were unaware of the tension growing between the actual mages standing beside them. Unconsciously, my hand started to itch where my guild mark was hidden behind a lot of cover up. I felt my body starting to shake with fury, and I could see the anger boiling inside my nakama as well.

A sweaty hand touched my arm, and I glowered at Thomas. The others were in another heated conversation about mages and their evil doings. Years ago, Mama had told me about how the higher end of society never cared for magic, because it was raw power that blossomed inside only a very small portion of the world. They didn't like how they couldn't buy it or harness it, so they resented it and everyone who wielded it. They never considered how many times mages saved their prim little asses, or even cared enough to know about a guild or who was or wasn't a mage. Mama and I had to keep our magic hidden, and now I knew why. These bastards would probably crucify all of us if they could.

"Are you okay, Luce?" Thomas asked, and I took a shaky breath.

"It's getting a little too stuffy in here," I admitted, looking for any excuse to get away from them. "Perhaps we could escape this place for a little while? I haven't been here since I was a child, and I'd love to see the mansion again." He seemed happy to oblige, probably thinking it was an opportunity to be alone and in private.

**Scarlet's POV**

The dilapidated house sent goosebumps down my arms as we picked our way through the shambles of the building, looking for any sign of a key. Our side of the house contained vast storage areas that could be hiding anything. But the longer we stayed, the more fear started to prick the hairs on the back of my neck. Cane and I were making our way through a hallway, and with each room we explored, I couldn't help but feel as if we were being watched.

The paranoia was unnerving, and when Cane froze and pointed to my arm, I nearly jumped out of my skin. Of course, it had only been a spider, but the little things scared the hell out of me. I released a piercing scream without meaning to, and Cane did not even try to hold back his laughter.

He flicked the arachnid off of me, his cocky smile never wavering. "Scarlet the Great taken down by an itsy bitsy spider," he mocked.

"Shut up," I grumbled, avoiding another spider web hanging from ceiling.

"Aww, what's wrong, Scarley?" he asked, throwing his arm around my shoulders. "You scared?"

"Just focus!" I hissed, pushing him off. "We're on a mission."

"Scary Scarley is scared!" he sung.

"Fuck off, Cane!" I shouted, finally losing my temper with him. A dagger appeared in my hand, and I pointed it towards him. He threw his hands up innocently, but his cocky smirk never left. "We're here on business, not for fun. If you say anything else, I'll kill you. Do you understand?"

His face dropped into a serious expression, and he shook his head. "What's wrong with you, Scar? Ever since we arrived, you've been miss bitch. I can't figure you out."

The dagger disappeared, and I continued walking with my back facing him. "It's nothing."

Cane's hand jerked my shoulder back, and before I could fight, he pinned me against the wall. His deep brown eyes shot back into mine menacingly, and his mouth twitched into a snarl. "Don't turn your back on me," he growled. "You're my nakama, or have you forgotten?"

"N-no," I stuttered, looking away in shame. How dare he make me feel like this. His fingers pinched my small chin, and he forced me to look back into his intense gaze. I gulped loudly, feeling a strange coldness creeping around me.

"Then why are you treating everyone like their strangers?" he demanded. Tears started to burn in my eyes, and I blinked them away fiercely. "Why are you treating your parents like their trash?"

My entire body started to tremble, but Cane's strong hands held me firm. "It's not something you would understand…"

"Are you kidding me?" He laughed once without humor. "I don't know who my father is, and I never knew my mother, but the first time we were alone, I couldn't stop hugging her. I didn't want to leave her side. It's not her fault she wasn't there as I was growing up. I forgave her and everyone in the guild. They have no control over the future, Scarlet."

"But it's their fault for being so weak and giving in to Morgania!" I suddenly shouted, my voice echoing down the abandoned halls. "If they hadn't allowed themselves to be controlled, all of this could have been avoided. They could still be alive!"

He seemed unfazed by my outburst. "And what? Shutting off your emotions is going to stop her?" I jerked my eyes away from him, but he pulled me back. "Don't think that I don't know what you are doing. I know you, Scar. I know you think your mother's weakness was her feelings, but you know what the biggest difference is between you and her?" I didn't answer. I didn't want to give him that satisfaction. "At least, her she knows that feelings make her human. So what does that make you?"

A high pitched scream sliced through the air, causing us to jump. "That's Wendy!" I said and started running towards the source. Twin swords appeared in my hands as we made our way through the manor. We hurtled over broken walls and fallen beams pushing ourselves faster when another yell sounded. "They must have found the hunters!"

"I don't think so. I sense something far darker than a common treasure hunters guild," Cane responded. Though I didn't want to agree, I still couldn't shake the earlier paranoia that something was watching us. It felt dark and eerie.

Another scream pierced the air, and I skidded to a halt in front of a thick wall. "There!" I shouted, pointing at it. Without hesitating, Cane used the magic Gildarts taught him and punched through the wall with ease. We leapt through the opening to a black room. The entire roof had fallen long ago, and the night sky loomed down on us. A flare was suddenly shot into the air, and I hid my eyes from the brightness for a moment, until it was high enough for my eyes to adjust to the red light.

Wendy was hurtled on the ground with Erza standing in front of her, equipped in her purgatory armor, but that wasn't what made my heart stop beating. Someone…or something stood in front of her. It was easily several feet taller than the requip mage, its gray, thin body gnarled with scars, and bones protruding from beneath its tight skin. Instead of normal hands, its fingers were long, and the nails were long black claws that swiped viciously at the mages before it. But its face and eyes were the worse. Its teeth were sharp and bright red, as if had just feasted on some poor victim, and its eyes were enlarged and black as the darkest night. It was horrifying to look at, and I was frozen in fear. Something glittered around its neck, and I cursed when I realized what it was.

_He's got the key,_ Cane shouted into my mind.

_Things just got a lot more complicated, _I said back, twirling the blades in my hands. The movement caught the creature's attention, and it roared a sickening cry. _Let's go, beasty._ I narrowed my eyes at it hunched towards the floor. Its body coiled up like a spring, then it lunged past Erza, just out of her reach, and she shouted when she realized I was its target.

I barely had time to lift my swords, when it landed. I grunted from underneath its weight, never expecting it to actually pounce on me full force. My knees buckled and I fell. It flipped off of me, and charged again as soon as it landed. I fell flat on my back and swung blindly, as it swiped a claw at me. I managed to block him again, but its body jumped onto me, pinning me beneath its full weight again. It lifted a hand to swing again, but suddenly pounced off when Cane managed a devastatingly blow to its side. He helped me to my feet quickly.

_Cana! Jane! _I shouted through our connection, reaching out to them. _Where are you? _

_We have our own problems! _Jane answered back. _Looks like there are scary things out here than you, Scar._

_Don't be frightened because it looks like you, _Cane shot back jokingly.

I felt her send back a warning curse, but our connection dropped when she engaged in another round of combat. The beast howled into the air, and I cold feeling shivered down my spine. Shadows began to quiver around us and take the form of people. One reached out and pulled on my ankle, I cried out, but a ball of fire hit its body and it shirked out of existence.

"Don't get distracted!" Erza shouted now in her flame empress armor. She turned her back to me and started attacking the walls, blowing away legions of shadows with it. "Take care of Lord Guffrey, I'll handle these creatures."

_"That's_ the lord?" Cane yelled, dumbstruck.

Wendy, finding her courage, started blasting away creatures with her sky dragon slayer magic. Once the creatures were a good ways away from her, she used another magic that enveloped us in a shimmering light. I recognized this magic from when Gale used it. It was to help boost speed and strength. When Wendy was finished and the light subsided, she answered Cane back, "We were looking through an abandoned office, when we found a hidden door. Evidently, the lord was possessed by something, and this is the result of that possession after so many years."

"Well, whatever," I said, and honed my magic around me. My regular armor transformed into black wing armor, and I smiled cruelly. "It's about time we play, beasty."

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**So because I love ya'll, this isn't going to be my last post today. I'm excited about what's about to happen next!**


	14. Chapter 14

**This was a fun chapter to write, and I hope you enjoy it as much as I did!**

**I don't own Fairy tail. Hiro Mashima does! **

**Have fun!**

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**Jane's POV**

_Shit! _These monsters were ridiculous. Where were they all coming from?

I made a dodging roll, narrowly avoiding the swipe of a claw, and barely made it to my feet in time to jump over the tail. My breathing was getting labored, and my back pushed up against Cana's. I could feel her lungs struggling for air just as much as mine were. I didn't know what the others were fighting, but before Erza had cut off our connection, I could see a haunting figure through her mind. The sight gave me the chills. Whatever it was, it wasn't like these things were fighting out here.

They were creepy, but they weren't strong… There were just too damn many of them.

"Cana!" I shouted. "Stand back!"

She leaped away, cutting through a couple monsters before she was a safe enough distance away. I was Laxus's daughter, so she didn't need much persuading. My chest swelled as I sucked in a giant breath, and started to growl, "Lightening Dragon's Roar!" I felt my lungs hit their peak, and lightening cackled around me before I finally released a torrent of lightening, destroying every monster within 200 feet. Cana yelled from behind me, and I barely had time to dodge a monster attacking from my backside. "Lightening Dragon's Fist!" I slammed a right hook into its jaw, and it flew back several feet, knocking out those who were unfortunate to get in its way.

Cana used a fire card, and a couple started to blaze around her. Exhausted, I fell onto one knee, and she ran to my side. She helped me back up, and I muttered a thanks. We looked out to the legions still coming toward us. There's no way these things had been here the entire time, and we never felt their presence. "Something's wrong," I told Cana.

"I know," she agreed. "It doesn't feel right."

A heavy sigh huffed out my lungs, and I sluggishly pulled from her grasp. I teetered a little, but I put my hand up to stop her from helping me. "I still have enough energy left, but after this, my power will be exhausted."

"What are you going to do?" she asked, not masking the fear in her voice.

I shot her a smile, and she frowned, knowing the look was something that both Mira and Laxus possessed. It was reeked of over confidence and evil ways, and I loved being able to copy it. "I'm going to destroy all of these monsters at once." She started to protest, but it was already too late. The air around me began to rustle, and I closed my eyes to concentrate. As my power grew, so did the gust of wind around me. I heard Cana shout something, but suddenly the air stilled, and I whispered. "Take over: God of time."

A large wind erupted from around me, and everything it touched, froze. I laughed, but even though I was surrounded by silence, it didn't echo. "Lightening Dragon Mode!" I shouted, and my body became engulfed in lightening. I cried into the night and started running, everything around me blurring. I punched, clawed, kicked, and fought my way through the horde that surrounded me moments ago.

The pathetic creatures wouldn't know what hit them.

My body grew weak from the expense of this magic, and what felt like hours fighting, was actually less than a second. I felt my body being pulled tightly, until it was taut and being snapped back into the true time around me. I landed somewhere unstably on my feet and heard a loud simultaneous cry of pain, and a dangerous, wild smirk grew on my lips. I placed my hands on my hips and turned around to admire my handiwork. "Fuck yeah! I'm awesome!"

Cana stood in the center of the horde nearly a quarter of a mile away, hundreds of bodies littered around her like wild poppies in a field. It was beautiful to me. I laughed when I saw the fear in her eyes. She hadn't expected me to just disappear and everything around her to drop dead. Literally.

"What?" I called to her, cupping my hands. "Scarlet said to trust your partners, and I'm the daughter of two of the strongest S-class mages!"

I started to move, when I realized I didn't even have the energy to stand anymore. My smile was still on my face even as I started to fall among the corpses. Cana shouted my name, and I continued to laugh at her until the darkness over took me.

**Scarlet's POV**

"Bastard!" Cane yelled, landing a kick at Lord Guffrey.

The creature snarled and lunged at him claws first. He leaped back, and I bolted past him, catching the full blunt of the attack with my sword. I grunted from the weight but managed to push him back. He flipped away from me, but I gave chase. Using a broken rooftop as an incline, I sprinted up it and flew into the air. My wings pushed me farther up, and I cried out as I came crashing back towards the earth, swinging my sword with all my might. The monster lifted its hands to block, but the force of my attack started to push him back. He dug his clawed feet into the ground, and they left scratches against the floor but he never fell. Realizing I was doing no damage, I flew back, landing beside Cane.

"It's no use!" he shouted. "He's too strong!"

The monster howled into the air and suddenly the shadows stopped attacking Erza and Wendy and started to form around his body. He snarled as they entered him, and his muscles began to bulge. Bones started cracking, and he roared in pain.

"What's happening?" Wendy asked, wondering the same thing as all of us.

His body was acting as a sponge and absorbing the shadows. He began to grow, and his height and width shot out another ten feet. When it couldn't take anymore, the shadows formed around its hands, and instead of only using claws, he now wielded the shadows like a sword.

"Crap!" I shouted. "As if it wasn't hard enough to fight before!"

It charged suddenly, and I lifted my sword to block. But, the force of his blow sent me flying backwards. I cried out as I slammed against the wall, my sight flashing as pain seared through every nerve. I slumped against the ground, my magic dispersing suddenly and my original armor appeared. A groan escaped me, and I heard Cane and Wendy shout incoherently.

My eyes shot up, and the beast was suddenly looming over me. Fear dominated the pain and sliced through me cold and intense. I looked into his cold dark eyes, wondering what he was like when he was human. I was petrified as I watched him lift his sword and brought it crashing down. I couldn't even look away even as another shadow leaped in front of me and took the blow.

A cry of pain broke through my daze, and I watched as my mother's body was thrashed aside by the angry beast. She was flung against another wall and slumped to the floor. Her head crashed against the marble, and her eyes shut. A pained whimper called after her, and I realized it was me. I stared at her limp, unmoving body. My heart felt as if it had been ripped open, and tears I had fought for so long were suddenly hot on my cheeks.

Cane's words whispered through my mind. _At least she knows that feelings make her human. _ I looked up into the lost depths of what used to be a human's eyes. My own broken face reflected back. Staring back at me…it wasn't human though. It was driven by darkness and instinct. It had succumbed to the possession long ago, and everything human about it had been shut down. So, w_hat does that make you?_

The monster howled into the air and lifted its sword for another attack. I closed my eyes, my shoulders slumped, and my head dropped. Somewhere, Cane was shouting my name in a pleading voice. It was shameful. To think after everything I had worked for… I had shut my emotions out because I thought it would help me resist Morgania. I thought that if I could survive, I could save the guild, but I hadn't realized what I had actually been doing. I'd been pushing everyone I loved away.

"Scarlet, move!" Cane shouted.

"Scarlet-san!" Wendy called, fear rippling through her. "Look out!"

"No…" I whispered. "I won't move."

The monster's sword started to descend, but I kept my eyes closed. I deserved this. I deserved to be killed for thinking so selfishly. I didn't deserve to live anymore…

The blade touched my shoulder, barely scratching it before light flared around me, and the monster flew back. Raw power quivered around me, and as I stood, Wendy and Cane were knocked back. "I won't move," I said again. "Because I'm human, and I'd fight until the end for my friends. Their emotions empower me, because I'm too weak to fight on my own."

The monster jumped back to life, roaring louder than ever, his power growing at an insane rate. Darkness swirled around him, and his sword grew bigger. He started to charge, and I lifted my hands in front of me, crossing them and shouting with all my might, "Heavenly Body Magic!" The light stopped flowing around me and started to focus in front of my hands. The beast lifted his sword and swung down just as I yelled and put every ounce of energy into my attack, "Abyss Break!"

Light bloomed around us, and it felt like every star in the sky ravaged his body. Shrills filled the air, and the monster and all of his darkness were consumed by the light. He continued to shriek until the very last of him vanished from the earth. The light started to disperse, and the night quickly came back to fill the void. Magic gone, I fell, but Cane caught me in his arms.

I looked into his sweet face and reached up to cup his cheek. My thumb wiped away a tear, and he sniffled as his body shook. "You're such an idiot!" he yelled.

I chuckled. "You were right though," I said. "I'm sorry for everything I've done."

A sob tore through him, and he clutched me closer to him. His hands intertwined in my red hair, and I smiled against his chest. "Don't do that to me ever again! I thought I lost you…and I can't…I can't…"

My arms wrapped around him, and I sighed. "I know. I'm sorry."

"I'm not strong enough without my nakama!" he suddenly shouted, and I tensed. "You're all I have now. I don't want to lose you."

_The power of feelings…_ A voice lulled through our minds. We looked at Erza, and her eyes were starting to flicker open. My heart exploded with joy when our gazes met, and I leaped out of Cane's arms and rushed towards her.

She started to smile, but I slapped it off her face. The sharp crack bounced off the walls, and she looked at me in utter confusion. My fists shook at my sides in anger, fear, pain, hurt… "Why did you do that?" I shouted at her, more hot tears running down my face.

Erza relaxed and smiled gently at me. She slowly rose to her feet, her smile never leaving. "I'm sorry. That was pretty stupid of me."

"Why did you do it?" I demanded, trembling more than I was when facing down the monster. "Why would you do that?" My voice cracked, and I started sobbing, burying my leaking hands in my hands.

"I think you know why," was all she said before I flung myself into her arms. She brushed my hair with her fingertips and held me close. My arms encircled her waist, and I hid my tears in her shirt she had been wearing before the fight. "Feelings aren't evil. It doesn't turn us into monsters, and it doesn't make us weak. It's what separates us from those trying to harm others. It's what protects us, comforts us, and drives us. The power of feelings will never let you fail; it will help you be strong in every moment of darkness."

She was right. I depended on my nakama to always be there for me. I knew why she had put her life in danger for me. It was the same reason that I had jumped in front of any of my nakama's before. "I love you!" I sobbed, not being able to take the pain in my heart anymore.

Erza—no. It was wrong to keep calling her that. My mother…she started to cry, and what felt like hours, we stood holding each other, letting every pain and fear in our hearts finally wedge itself out.

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**Aww...so much love. That's about it for today, but I'll have another chapter ready for tomorrow. I'm determined to finish it up before the end of summer! There's still plenty more to come though!**


	15. Chapter 15

**Jellal's POV**

We were shrouded by the night, hiding among the trees just outside the manor. For most of the night, it was unusually quiet, and a strange feeling had been growing inside me most the night. Despite our careful planning, I had my doubts that this night was going to run as smooth as we thought.

"Would you stop pacing?" Laxus demanded, crossing his arms tight around his chest as he leaned against the tree. "It's annoying."

I hadn't realized that as I was lost in my thoughts, my feet started to move. With a heavy sigh that did nothing to mask my worry, I sat down on the pine needle floor beneath us. I was tense from this nagging emotion in the back of my mind. "Something doesn't feel right," I told him.

A sharp ring sang from Laxus pocket, and I cocked my head as he pulled out the lacrima that the guild had given us to keep in touch. I bolted to my feet as soon as he touched its surface to answer. Mira's face popped into view, an excited smile on her face. My muscles relaxed a little, knowing that she bared good news.

"The other team has already returned," she informed us. "They were a little roughened up, but they survived and found the key. Jane and Erza have been sent to the infirmary where they're getting bandaged up. They took the worst of it from what the others told me."

Laxus and I exchanged a long glance, before he turned back to Mira. "Was it the treasure hunters?"

She shook her head. "No. Cana said it was something worse, but no one wants to talk about it just yet." She suddenly realized I was there, and her smile—if possible—brightened more. "Scarlet is sitting by Erza's side and helping her out."

"What?" I asked in astonishment. Memories of our first cold encounter echoed through my head. She despised both of us, but I didn't understand why. Now she was suddenly beside Erza? What had happened there?

Before I got the chance to ask, Laxus said, "We should be wrapping up here soon. We've been able to get some information from the idiots, but nothing noteworthy. I guess Gray and Juvia were a waste of time."

Mira laughed. "No, I'm sure it must have been difficult to get much information out of them. Their job was only our secondary objective. Natsu and Lucy remain our primary. Do you know how everything is going with them?"

"Natsu is making a lot of headway with his new _woman_," I jested, remembering his rant he blared at us through our connection. "As for Lucy…we haven't heard much. Juvia says she walked off with Thomas, but that was some time ago." Why hadn't she been communicating with us much since then? "I'm sure she can handle herself, but…"

"We'll send Natsu to find her," Laxus added, and I nodded in agreement.

Mira waved and sent a kiss to Laxus before the lacrima went blank. He placed it back in his pocket and crossed his arms again. "See?" he began. "Your worries were for nothing. Perhaps you just sensed that Erza was in trouble, but everything is better now."

I shook my head, the bad feeling even more intense now. "No. Something is definitely wrong…" I trailed off. A sudden thought blared across my mind, and I gasped in realization. "I know what it is."

Laxus looked at me curiously, and I pulled out the lacrima in my pocket. When we first arrived, we placed small hidden lacrimas around the perimeter so that we could trace any movement going in and out of estate. I flipped through the different screens and cursed when I realized my suspicions had been right. Anger surged in me, and I chunked the lacrima into a nearby tree and watched it shatter.

"What the hell—" Laxus started, but I interrupted him.

"The screens haven't changed since the beginning. They've been tampered with," I told him and started running towards the large house. "If the treasure hunters weren't at the other location that means that they went to a different place. Here."

**Lucy's POV**

Thomas's hands were annoying the most. It was the strangest thing. It wasn't the way he kept backhandedly insulting me, or the way he kept staring my breasts whenever we walked. But it was his hands. They kept roaming every inch of my body whenever they could. He'd "accidentally" stumble into me and "accidentally" catch himself by grabbing onto some new part of me. His hand this time slapped against my butt when he fell behind me and claimed he couldn't control where they went.

Pervert. This night better end soon. I was tired of being harassed by a pompous little brat that kept trying to fondle me. Could this night possibly get any worse?

"And this is the library," he said, drawing my attention to a large and familiar door.

I tensed and feigned a nervous laugh. "You don't intend on locking me up in there again do you?"

"So you still remember that?" Thomas asked, scratching the back of his neck. That was another annoying habit of his. I was starting to believe there wasn't anything he did that didn't irk me somehow. "I'm sorry about all of that. We were kids after all, and kids are stupid."

"Yes, but adults can be just as childish," I mumbled as he started to shut the library doors.

"Did you say something?" he asked.

I shook my head. "No, I was just admiring this place," I played off perfectly. I spun around in the hall with my arms opened wide. "It reminds me of my home, but I bet it can't possibly be filled with as many secrets."

"What do you mean?" he inquired quizzically.

I shrugged and started to name off some of the places around our estate where there were trap doors or hidden treasures. All of it was a goad to see if he would spill about some of their places. "Of course, my home was much smaller, but we still had a lot of things stashed away. There's a rumor that Father used to hide random valuable objects beneath a loose brick by the fountain just in case we ever lost our money we could sell it for cash."

Thomas gave this some thought. "Hmm…well there is this one place that mother always goes to in the gardens. She always warns me not to go back there. Do you suppose we could sneak away for a bit longer to see what she might be hiding?"

I smiled brightly at him, delighted that he had taken the bait. My hands hooked around his arm, and we laughed as we started walking towards the gardens.

**Nashi's POV**

"The stars are so bright out tonight," I sighed. I leaned back against the roof, one arm folded behind my head. My other hand traced the outlines of a couple constellations, admiring their beauty and wondering what it would be like to actual touch them. A shooting star blazed across the night, and I gasped in delight.

"Your mother used to be like this," Loke said beside me, chuckling. "I used to catch her outside her apartment at night or on missions, sketching the sky with her fingertips."

"She's the one who taught me what each one was, but you were the one who told me that if I drew them in the sky then they'd fall down and join me."

A few moments ago, I gave Papa one last glance before I disappeared. He was still with that bulging Lilith woman. I didn't like her much. She was fat, stupid, and mean. The way she talked about mages ruined my mood, and so I went in search of Loke. I knew he'd be on the roof, because he once told me that when he was upset, he'd watch the stars so that he could smile again.

Before, I used to sit up high on whatever I could whether it is a roof or a tree, and I'd look at the stars and try to smile as bright to them as they did at me. Loke would always find me like that—smiling and tracing constellations. I was never able to use celestial magic. Everyone else could wield dual magic, except for me. It was always infuriating because I felt as if I wasn't complete. I could only use my father's magic, and it felt like I had nothing to remember my mother by. That's when Loke would visit me. He was the spirit that missed Mama the most, and he saw something in me of her that no one else could.

He'd tell me stories about their brave adventures and mishaps together, and he never failed to make me laugh. He was the perfect big brother to me, and I loved him in every way for it. "Loke, does it ever get lonely knowing you have to live forever?" I asked suddenly.

I felt him tense beside me, but he fell eerily quiet. It was something I had always wanted to ask him, and I didn't mind waiting for him to answer. We sat in a comfortable silence for a while, and for a second, I thought we were back to before. However, after some time, he breathed heavily and said, "Yes. I always feel sad because of it, but I do not worry about it. I'd rather be here with my friends and enjoying the time I have than constantly worrying what will happen fifty years from now."

I smiled. "Good answer," I said back to him. "But you won't have to worry, because I will live forever."

He jerked up quickly and searched my eyes for a lie. My smile brightened when he didn't find one. "Don't tell me the rumors are true…"

"You told me yourself what the rumors are," I informed him. "They are."

"But how—"

I bolted upright, a cold sweat breaking out on my skin. My hands gripped my head, and I started to silently scream. Loke was upon me in a second, bombarding me with questions and trying to comfort me. I pushed him off as best as I could and waited for the splitting headache to subside.

"Nashi!" he called to me. "Speak to me. What's going on?"

And just as suddenly as it happened, it vanished; leaving me drenched in sweat and out of breath. I looked wildly into the night and searched the stars for answers. "Oh no!" I whimpered, clambering to my feet.

"What is it? What's wrong?" Loke asked concernedly.

I gripped his shirt and looked into his blue, sparkling eyes. "Do you trust me?"

"W-what?" he gaped. "What are you talking about?"

I shook my head. "We need to get to the bathroom."

"What?" Loke shot back.

I sighed irritably. Lion-man in the future didn't ask so many questions. "Listen," I explained, pointing to the stars. "Sometimes I speak to the heavens, and sometimes they speak back."

He was blatantly confused. He cocked a golden eyebrow and asked, "Did you hit your head hard against something in the future?"

Rolling my eyes, I pulled out of his arms and started making my way to the rooftop. "Listen, I know I can't explain everything to you right now, but you'll have to follow me."

"Why?" he asked, running to catch up.

"Because, I can't use my magic, and I'm going to need some fire power."

"You know the magic on this land is only bound to humans. I can still use it if need be, but will I have to?"

I turned on him, and he nearly ran into me. My brown eyes stared hard back into him, and I pointed a finger at his chest and tried to sound threatening. "Okay, little lion-man. You can use magic. That's great, except we're going to need more than just you to help. I can foresee the future, and I know that something is about to happen. I don't know what yet, but we need to get to the bathroom and quick."

"Why the bathroom?"

I shot him a mischievous grin, one that would even rival Papa's. Loke must have known the look meant trouble and started cursing as we jumped off the roof and rushed to the lady's room.

**Lucy's POV**

The familiar fountain came into view with its cobblestones wrapped into a star around a beautiful mermaid that rivaled even Aquarius. The woman was reaching towards the stars with her hands cupped upwards. Water spewed into the air out of her palms, and she held a perpetual laugh as she constantly offered her gift of water to the heavens. Even as a young girl, I thought the statue was odd for such a family who despised mages to flaunt the mermaid. The family must not have known the legacy behind it. That mermaid was offering the magic she discovered to the gods since they had granted her this power.

Thomas sat me down on the thick stones, and he started a long story about how we had first met ten years ago. He spun the story like Happy and his fish tales. You would think that we were a prince and princess destined to be together, but fate had torn us apart only to bring us together again tonight. It was romantic, but I was not in love with this _prince charming. _If Mama were here, I'd beg her to tell me the story again of how the dragon loved the princess and came to rescue her.

Bitter laughter escaped before I realized it, and Thomas shot me a quizzical glance. I shook my head. "I'm sorry," I said quickly, getting to my feet. It wasn't his fault my mood suddenly soured. I was thinking of Natsu again, and how much I wish he would love me as much as I loved him. I knew it was only in my dreams that he would kiss me, and it made my heart ache. I shook my head again and tried to distract my thoughts. "So, where is this secret place again?"

Thomas smiled devilishly and took my hand in his. He jerked me closer and wrapped his steel arms around me. His cold breath washed down my neck, and a shiver of disgust ran down my spine. I tried to pull out of his sudden embrace, but he chuckled and squeezed me closer. His face was only a few inches from mine, and I could feel the heat on my cheeks. "Why don't I set you down somewhere and explore all of your secret places?"

I released a shriek and doubled my efforts to escape him. "Let me go!" I cried, turning my face away from his. When his lips touched my jaw, I opened my mouth to scream, but a sturdy hand clamped down on my mouth. He walked me backwards toward the hedges and pinned me against the thorns. I stopped struggling as much when they started to cut into my back. Tears were hot in my eyes, and I started to whimper as his other hand started trying to lift the hem of my dress.

A free hand shot out and struck against his cheek, but it only made the desire in his eyes burn wilder. "I like them feisty," he hissed. He removed a silver bangle from his coat and placed the cold metal against my wrists. As soon as it touched my skin, it shot out like a snake and bound my wrists together, and then lifted me into the air until my feet were unable to touch the ground. I kicked at him, but he pulled out another bangle, and it bound my ankles.

I started to wail, but Thomas covered my mouth again. "Shh," he purred sadistically. His hands reached up to my silver bracelet that Warren and Reedus had made. "I see you're not the only one that figured out how to use magic items here." He snatched it off and tossed it into the fountain. How did he know about the charm? Fear turned my blood to ice, and my body started to shake as tears rolled down my cheeks. "Now…let's see just what else you're hiding…"

"Me," an angered voice snarled behind him. Thomas turned to look but was met with a punch across the face. He flew sideways, releasing me, and I stared in wonder. Natsu wouldn't meet my eyes, but I knew he felt me watching him. His sharp eyes were targeted on the man trying to rape me a few seconds ago. Thomas cursed and rubbed his cheek. He tried to yell at Natsu, but the dragon slayer picked him up by the shirt and lifted him as high as I was. "You tried to hurt, Lucy, and I will never forgive you for that." Another fist slammed into his face, and Thomas landed in the fountain with a giant splash. Satisfied that the brute wouldn't be moving much longer, he finally turned to me.

His eyes roamed my body, checking for injuries. He started at my feet, but when his gaze finally met mine, I felt pain twinge in my heart. I had seen Natsu in many ways: happy, teasing, evil, fired up, and ect… but what I saw in his eyes made me want to hold him against me and never let go. He was afraid, and it terrified me to see him like this.

His fists quivered at his sides at his sides as he approached, and I gasped when he reached under my dress and pulled the binding off. He reached above my head with one arm while the other encircled my waist. When he broke the binding on my wrists, I fell against him, but his arms were there to catch me. Without hesitation, he buried his face in my shoulder and pulled me into a tight embrace as he continued to shake.

"I'm sorry, Luce," he whispered against my soft skin. "I should have gotten here quicker. I knew that guy was a creep…but I never thought—"

A sudden laugh left my lungs, and Natsu pulled away to look at me. I covered my mouth to stifle my laughter, but it was no good. "S-stop," I giggled. "This serious voice of yours, it's…it's not you, Natsu."

His lips twitched into a lopsided grin. He scratched the back of his head, a faint red glow growing on his cheeks. "Yeah," he said. "I suppose you're right."

Acting on impulse, I reached up for his head and pulled it down until my lips touched his forehead. His eyes went wide in surprise, and I hugged him before he could say anything else. A second later, he had his arms wrapped around me again. "Thank you," I hummed. "For always protecting me."

"You're my Lucy," he stated as simply as inhaling a breath of air. "I'll always protect you." I closed my eyes and smiled. It was a far better response than I thought he would give. His fingers cupped my chin suddenly, and he lifted my face until I was staring back at him. "There's something I've wanted to tell you…"

"Yes?" I pondered, my heart suddenly pounding erratically in my chest. His eyes flickered to my lips, and his breath was hot on my cheeks as he slowly began to descend towards me. I closed my eyes, and my body suddenly felt lighter than air, as I reached closer to him, desperate to reach him. For the past few days, we were always so close, and I wasn't about to let him escape this time. Wait…we have been trying to kiss each other! Duh, Lucy! It was obvious. I parted my lips as I smiled. He loved me!

_"Mama, why does the dragon always guard the princess?"_

_ "Because he loves her."_

"Well, if it isn't that bitch and her pathetic dog," a groveling voice growled. Natsu jumped away from me, his fists instantly balled and ready for a fight. Are you kidding me? It never failed that something was always coming between our perfect moment! I glowered towards the voice and opened my mouth to start spewing curses, but they landed on a familiar figure, I squealed and shut it. "Hello again, princess."

It was the man that attacked us at the festival the night we had first met Nashi! My eyes darted around him, and at the swarm of burly men caring heavy weapons and snarling expressions. "Natsu!" I whined. "It's the men from back then!"

"I know," he said evenly. His calm voice sent chills through me, and I knew he was being serious. He took a step in front of me, and I knew he was using himself as a shield to protect me. "Even though I was sick, I remember. We never had the pleasure of fighting, but now I'm all fired up!"

The lead man laughed at the dragon slayer. "Tough talk, kid. We were here simply just to acquire a key, but it looks like we can kill two birds with one stone and take Jude's precious little daughter with us."

"A key?" I gasped. "Then that means you guys are—"

"We're treasure hunters," Thomas answered as he slugged out of the fountain. He rubbed his back and lifted a small golden key out of his pocket. "Mother thought she was being clever trying to hide it from me, but I made an exchange with her. This ball was a setup you see. I made and exchange with her. If she handed over the key finally, I would give it to someone that I chose as my bride. It made her too excited, and she overlooked my father's law."

"Your father's law?" Natsu asked, cocking a pink eyebrow.

Thomas nodded. "My father entrusted my mother with the key before she died, but he made her promise to never allow me to have it. When I swore to my mother, that I would give it to someone by the end of the night, she gave it to me." Thomas handed over the key to the man, and he clenched a giant fist around it and laughed. "You're my witness that I gave it away."

"Why are you working with these men?" I exclaimed.

"Working with them?" He and the men around him exchanged a knowing glance, and they all broke into fits of laughter. "Lucy, I don't work for them. I'm their master."

I gasped at his words and stepped back. Why would he? After everything his father went through to hide the key, and after the promise he made to his mother, he would go against everything. But, why? "Do you even know what that key is for?" I blurted. The men went quiet and stared at me. "If you use it to open the door Master said you found, you're not going to find treasure. You'll open the world to evil—"

"Do you honestly think I don't know what this actually unlocks?" he asked, his lips twisted into an evil grin. "I fed a couple guilds a fake story just so they wouldn't go snooping into our business."

"And you still want to open it?" Natsu demanded.

"Of course," Thomas replied. "I plan on unleashing Morgania."

"Why?" I cried. "Why would you do that?"

He laughed once and folded his arms. "You heard our little conversation inside, Lucy. It was all for your benefit really. It was glorious to see the angered looks on Fairy Tail's wizards."

He knew about us? Shit! Who was this guy?

"What?" he barked. "Are you surprised that I knew who you were?" He glared at Natsu. "Salamander, fire dragon slayer, and Lucy Heartfilia, celestial spirit wizard." Natsu took a sharp intake of breath, and I placed a hand on his back to comfort him. His skin felt cold, and I remembered that we couldn't use magic here. "I'm sick of wizards thinking they can take over and destroy this world…so I'll kill them all. Of course, I have to get another wizard to do it, and I'll have to kill her too once she's done, but at least this world will once again be free of mages!"

"Bastard!" Natsu rushed him and punched him again, sending him back into his companions.

They helped him to his feet, and Thomas stood, ready to issue commands when there was more commotion behind him. Gray held a tray a waiter was carrying around earlier and smacked a man in the side of the head. The man cried out and fell to the ground unconscious. Following him was Jay, throwing stones at every target closest to him. One man dodged his assaults and backhanded Jay. The kid stumbled backwards, and the man lifted his fist to punch him when a long spray of water met him in the face.

"Don't mess with Jay or Gray-sama!" Juvia shouted with a water hose in her hand.

The man I recognized from the festival yelled for everyone to attack, and a giant foot met him across the face. I'm sure he was knocked out before he hit the ground. Laxus stood over the slumping body laughing. Jellal was behind him, fighting vigilantly. A bright light erupted, and I knew the source and started smiling as Loke shot through the doors of the house and started his attack.

Nashi was following him, a smug smile on her lips. A man suddenly cut her off, and he started making fun of how small she was. That was a terrible mistake. "Fire dragon—" she started to scream.

"She can use magic here?" I shouted in shock.

"Torch!" she screamed and held up a lighter. Seriosuly? That was anticlimactic. I sweat drop formed on my head as I stared at the bizarre little girl. She was definitely Natsu's kid.

"Bahaha!" the man shouted. "You think something as puny as that is going to hurt me?"

"No," Nashi sung and whipped around a can of hair spray from her back. "But this will!"

Her finger mashed down on the spray can, and when the container's chemicals hit the open flame, a huge stream of fire shot out and lit the man on fire. He started screaming and raw towards the fountain with his ass still burning. Nashi laughed evilly, and another sweat drop formed. There was no denying that Natsu genes were running through her. She looked at Loke and yelled, "Told you the bathroom was perfect!" The celestial spirit just shot her a dubious look before returning to his fight, and Nashi ran off to burn more men.

Rough hands reached from behind me, grabbing onto my waist. "Hey bitch, let's play."

I growled at him, and replied, "Okay, but I don't play nice with others." I scooped up a vase that was conveniently beside my foot and smashed against his skull. He staggered back, and I finished him off with one of my famous "Lucy kicks". I laughed down at his pathetic state. "Luck is totally with me tonight!" With our team members fighting as hard as they could, there was no way we could lose.

"That's enough!" Thomas's voice broke through the fighting. "Do it now!"

I swiveled around as the bushes beside us started to rustle. Camouflaged men started to appear, holding blow guns to their lips. The closest one to me suddenly shot something at me, and I was too stunned to move when it hit my neck. A soft whimper came out my lips, and I pulled the object away. My vision started to blur, but I could just make out what it was. "A tranquilizer?"

My body grew heavy, and I couldn't stop myself when I collapsed against the ground. "Lucy!" Natsu shouted somewhere. "Luuucy!" I felt his name on my lips, but I didn't know if I actually said it before I was engulfed by the growing darkness.

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**Soooo... what did you think? **

**What's going to happen next? Will Fairy Tail be able to over power these treasure hunters, or will they lose everything? And why does everyone keep interrupting Natsu and Lucy before they kiss? **

**Let me know what you think will happen next!**


	16. Chapter 16

**Another chapter is finally here! I know you're all dying to know what happened to our fairy tail members, but we've got to see what's going on back at the guild. Definitely some serious action! And by that I mean LEMONS! Warning: This chapter is not for kids. Skip it if you are not mature enough to read it, just saying. **

**Sorry about messing with everyone's feels, and thanks to everyone for reviewing. I want to give a late shout out to StarCaptain for giving me the name Scarly. It's adorable, and I couldn't NOT put it in the story!**

**Once again, I do not own Fairy Tail. It is Hiro Mashima's. Everyone enjoy!**

**Oh! And one more thing: There's a small quote from T.S. Eliot's poem "The Love Song of J. Alfred Prufrock". It's one of my favorite poems of all times, and one of the most important lines is somewhere in the middle of the chapter. I don't own that either! I wish I did, but I don't.**

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**Levy's POV**

I don't know how I'm going to survive this. I might go insane. Maybe alcohol would help? No…alcohol never helped anything, and I was one of those pathetic hopeless romantics when I'm drunk. Okay, I'm like that sober as well, but at least I can contain my thoughts when I'm intoxicated. Then again, there was no way I was going to live through this. Perhaps I could drink myself into a stupor and pass out so that I wouldn't have to deal with this… Ugh. That wasn't going to work; I'm not Cana unfortunately. I can't use alcohol as an excuse to ignore my problems. Dammit. That was my last idea too. Not even books could block out this.

How did anyone live in a family of dragon slayers?

After the extraction team returned from Lord Guffrey's house, we waited patiently all through the night until the others returned. After the last transmission with Laxus and Jellal promising to finish things soon with Mira, we lost communication with everyone. We waited, but nothing happened. Of course, Master said it was most likely due to them being so far away and the lack of magic was most likely draining on their bodies. He told us to go home and get rest, but I couldn't. It left a bad taste in my mouth not knowing if my best friend and the rest of the team were all right. I wanted to boycott and maybe volunteer to stay with the members in the infirmary, but Gajeel threw me over his shoulder and took me home. Naturally, Gale and Leevi followed since most of their team was MIA as well.

Normally, I would have went straight to Fairy Hills to submerge myself in any kind of book relating to Morgania's magic, but Gajeel had insisted that I take a break. He said I had been overworking myself lately, and it evidently was beginning to show. Now was especially not the time to be taking a break, but he wouldn't listen. We traveled to his house in silence, and I thought about what had happened since I was last with Lucy. I told her that I would finally tell Gajeel how I felt, but ever since then, I've been too consumed with trying to figure out how to save the guild that I completely forgot about it. I haven't even slept since then. Maybe the iron dragon slayer was right, and I needed a small break.

Gajeel owned a small house on the outskirts of town. Of course, from the looks of it, I'm pretty sure the iron dragon slayer had a lot of things bottled up inside that he didn't necessarily express to others. He had three main bedrooms, one for his and Lily's bed, one for his work out equipment, and the other he kept behind a lock and key and forbade us from entering. Lily had a small bed beside Gajeel's, but since he was staying at the guild trying to comfort an anxious Happy, it remained empty.

The twins were quick to call the pull out couch, and immediately began arguing about what sides they wanted and who was going to take a shower first. I don't know if it was the lack of sleep, or the fact that I hadn't read a book in over eight hours—yes, that made me upset—I grabbed the boys ears like I saw Scarlet and started yelling, "If you two don't start getting along, I'm going to tie you together and throw you over a cliff and watch you figure out how to climb back up without magic! Am I understood?"

"Y-yes, ma'am!" they whimpered together.

I released them placed my fists on my hips. A smug smile was on my face when I said, "Now. Hug each other and make up."

"What?" Galed asked.

"You can't be serious…" Leevi trailed off sneaking a sideways glance at Gale.

I'm sure hell fire was burning around me when I looked at them, because without even saying a word they started sprouting tears like a spring shower and hugging each other like lovers. I nodded my approval and cleared my throat. "Now, since you are a guest here, you have to respect the house you are in, and that means you have to follow the rules. No fighting. No swearing. Clean up whatever mess you make. Use manners. And do anything your father or I ask of you."

They nodded swiftly, still clutching to each other tightly in fear. I smiled brightly at them and kissed them both on the forehead, wished them goodnight, and went to Gajeel's bedroom. I closed the door behind me and started to reach for clothes to change into when I realized I hadn't had the opportunity to grab any… I moaned and fell back against the soft bed beneath me. What was I going to do? That was when I realized that there was only one bed…again. Shit!

There was a soft knock on the door a moment later, and I beckoned them to enter as I sat up. Gajeel drifted in and closed the door quietly behind him. "The twins are already asleep," he informed me, chuckling. "They sure can be a handful. There as noisy and as big a pain in the ass as the rest of the guild, but what you did to make them behave—damn, that was awesome. I've never seen anyone inflict that much fear into them except Erza's hell spawn."

I laughed tiredly. "Something had to be done. At least they know not mess with me," I answered. A loud yawn escaped me, and I rubbed my drooping eyes.

Gajeel chuckled again. "I told you, you needed a break, shrimp."

"Don't call me that," I muttered. I looked around, my face reddening when the situation finally became aware to me. I was sitting on Gajeel's bed and alone with him in his room with the door closed. My face burned as hot as Natsu's fire, and I suddenly found I couldn't look at the dragon slayer right then. The bed shifted as he sat beside me, and I could feel heat radiating off of him. I dared a peek up at him, and his face was as red as mine. He must have realized the same thing.

It's not like we haven't slept together before, but that was in a tent! Besides, I couldn't have let him sleep outside on the cold ground. But this was totally different!

"Umm…" I mumbled very ineloquently, thinking of anything to say to distract me from the fact that we were going to sleep in a bed together… "I need some pajamas."

He only nodded in response and started rummaging through drawers. He pulled out a long, black t-shirt, and tossed it to me. "Sorry, but it's the only thing I have since I didn't wash clothes yet." He started for the door. "I-I'll be in the room next door, so I'll leave you to get dress." He gulped audibly then rushed out.

It was almost comical how flustered he was with me here. I pulled the bandana out from my hair, and shook my blue locks out. They fell softly against my face, and I ran a careful hand through them. I chunked off my boots and placed them carefully by the door, before I started peeling away layers of my clothing. It was awkward not having pants to change into, but when I put the shirt on, I realized it didn't much matter. Gajeel's shirt was long enough and reached just a few inches above my knee. It hung off of me like a dress three times too large for me. I neatly folded my clothes, making a mental note to swing by Fairy Hills for shower and clothes in the morning.

Quietly, I reached for the door and cracked it open just enough for me to sleep through. The twins were both still asleep, and their snores were drifting down the small hall I was creeping in. Tiptoeing in the dark, I groped against the wall until my hands landed on the door frame. Squeezing the knob tightly, I slowly turned it and whispered into the dark, "Gajeel?" No answer. This was the workout room that he had showed us earlier, but why wouldn't he be here? He said he would be in the next room, and he clearly stated that the other was off limits…

Well, maybe I could sneak a peek. It wouldn't be my fault if he caught me creeping on his "secret man cave" after all. He wasn't in the room he said he would be in. My socks slid against the wooden floor, and I snuck towards the room. I wondered what was inside. Knowing Gajeel, it was probably a weapons closet that he didn't want the twins getting into. Or could it be filled with naughty things like revealing pictures of women in that risqué PlayMage magazine? Or maybe he had some weird fantasy with stuffed unicorns and had a huge collection of plush toys? Hehe, man you were so busted…

As silent as possible, I opened the door and shouldered inside quickly. I flicked on the lights, and when I looked around, my mouth dropped in shock. Tears started to fill my eyes, and my knees started to shake. I covered my mouth, and a pair of hands touched my shoulders. Slowly, I turned to face the iron dragon slayer, and when I looked into his eyes, I started to cry.

"I thought I told you not to come in here," he grumbled, scratching the back of his head and a blush on his cheeks.

"Y-you…" I tried breathlessly.

"Yeah. It's a lot to take in, and I was working on a way of explaining it to you," he replied with a heavy sigh. "I guess the secret is out now."

I pulled away from him and took another look around. Whatever I had been thinking he was hiding in here before…I was wrong. So, so wrong. Around the room, hanging from every corner, and on several art easels standing alone in the middle of the room, were portraits. Each showed a different scene and blurred with different colors. One painting used only hues of red, capturing passion. Another was a sketch of blacks and dark greys, depicting the pain of the memory it reflected. They were all so captivating and uniquely different, but they were all focused on the same obvious inspiration.

Me.

"You did all of these?" I asked, finally finding my voice.

He nodded, watching me study each painting carefully. "It's always been a hobby of mine. It's the only way I can relax after a long day," he explained, touching the black picture of me standing in front of the destroyed guild after Phantom attacked it. "When I first joined, Mira mentioned that I needed a way of expressing myself. I tried several things: reading, writing, and you know, singing. But the only thing I found that helped was painting. At first, it was just simple images of what I had seen that day. Houses, trees, rivers, and whatever. Then I started to try people. It was hard, and most of the images didn't make sense in the beginning, but that was because I didn't understand it. I was trying to draw someone I had seen off the street, but something was always wrong with them. Hair was too long, body was too small, and none of it felt right. That was when I realized I wasn't focusing on that person." He looked down at me. "I could only think of you."

My breath caught, and my heart starting pounding unnaturally hard in my chest. He saw me starting to step back, but his hands secured themselves around my waist. In all my novels I had ever read, this was always one of those moments when the hero and heroine finally were together. While I had always rooted for them and felt relieved when they were finally together, it was something else entirely when I was faced with that same dilemma. I was frightened, but of what, I'm not sure.

Lucy and the girls made me realize that I actually did love Gajeel, and I even vowed to admit my feelings towards him. Though I was scared of rejection, surrounding me were all the reasons why _he_ loved me back… He loved me back? His eyes glowed passionately and made my skin feel statically charged while he held me. His fingers stroked against my cheek, and I swear I could have melted into him right then. Yes, I thought. He did love me. If I had been more observant, I would have seen the answer to my questions a long time ago. Yet, why was I scared?

I guess not all answers were written in a book, but someone described love as being the most confusing, happiest, painful, and terrifying moments of your life. My fluctuating emotions made me finally understand just how something so simple could also be so complicated. I thought I knew what love was but staring at him as he held me like this, I knew nothing.

My body began to tremble, or so I thought, until Gajeel gulped, and I realized, it was him shaking. I wrapped my arms around him and leaned forward. Slowly, oh so achingly slowly, he arched his head downwards, his beautiful red eyes drifting shut as if they could close and hide all of his fears. Mine fluttered shut, and I tried to pretend I was dreaming. Because only in my sleep was I brave enough to consider giving in and being everything with him.

His lips barely skimmed across mine when I felt a pleasurably shudder chase through every nerve. It was the lightest touch that spoke volumes of silent prayers and wishes. Time was cruel and slow, and hesitated as if this moment was the final stop and question before everything came crashing down—"do I dare disturb the universe"? Then suddenly, as if speeding forward in fast motion, he was upon me, his lips ravaging my own with their sweet nectar and startling bite. His fangs grazed against my bottom lip, and moans were rumbling from some primal animal hidden inside my body. These sounds only made him feast more on me. His body pushed against mine, and we were a waterfall tumbling, stumbling, and crashing down faster and harder to a place neither of us had ever ventured before until we finally hit the bottom and found each other ripping the other's clothes off and tossing such useless materials away like worthless debris caught in perpetually spiraling universe.

Heat pooled between my legs, only burning hotter as he tore off his shirt and allowed me to explore every ridge of his chest with my fingers. Something between a growl and a groan roared from him, and he briefly pulled away from my throbbing lips. His hands grabbed the collar of the t-shirt I was wearing, and only with the strength of dragon slayer, he ripped the shirt apart, exposing my matching black laced undergarments. I didn't even have a chance at recovering from his initial assault before he was back to my lips, pressing against me harder than ever. We crashed against a wall, paintings tumbling down around us, but neither of us cared.

He worked around to my back and began unlatching the bra. With a great relief, the pressure binding my chest was gone and finally exposed. Self-conscious as I was about my chest, I instinctively started to wrap my arms around them, but Gajeel grabbed my wrists. His lips left mine, and his breath tickled my ear as he said, "No. You're beautiful."

I smiled and started to reply when he began sucking and nibbling on my neck and all rational thoughts escaped my mind. Moans started coming out with each breath, and I whispered his name somewhere between. He replied with that same groan earlier and without hesitating, bent down to his knees and pulled my panties to my ankles. I felt ridiculous completely naked in front of him, but it couldn't stop me from wanting this. His hands wrapped around my butt, massaging the soft skin, and his tongue gave a curiously flick on my core. My body reacted with a twitch, and I felt him smile against my skin before he dove in.

Electric pulses shot pleasure through my body with each lick, and my eyes rolled into the back of my head. He started with torturing me with long, slow laps of his tongue, every now and then, stopping to plunge itself into my melting core. Finally, I couldn't take it anymore, and I screamed his name. He laughed once, and then I was consumed by the hottest fire. His tongue danced circles around my clit while a single finger began pumping in and out as fast as it could. I was on a coaster, mounting the top, coming closer, closer, close… ugh…the peek…

"Gajeel!" I moaned, as my body began compulsing, screaming, exploding, releasing… every thought, every feeling was racing through me, every fragment of my being igniting with such a blissful high that I never thought I would be coming down. I collapsed into Gajeel's arms, unable to move and still unnerved with my first orgasm. The dragon slayer licked his lips before kissing mine. He lifted me up like a princess and started carrying me out the door.

"Where are we going?" I mumbled, light headed and dazed.

He didn't answer until we were back in his room, and he laid me on the bed. He straddled my fragile body and started licking my neck. His arousal started pressing between my legs, and the fire started burning even hotter than before. He moaned into my skin, and I pulled his lips back to mine. My hands soon became entangled in his hair, and one of his began running slowly around my clit. I fumbled with his pants, and he suddenly stopped, sighing.

"What is it?" I wondered, slightly impatient.

He placed his forehead against mine and thought for a moment before answering, "I don't want to hurt you."

My heart stopped. "Hurt me?" He wasn't planning on this just being a fling—was he?

Sensing my line of thoughts, he kissed me hard. "I meant physically. Mavis's sake, I don't know about any of this thought. Fuck, you're a good girl. A solid script mage that's been with the guild since you were a child and grown up like an elegant school kid. But me? I'm no one. I hurt you—tortured you—before I even knew you. It's a miracle that you even tolerated me since I joined. I'm a dragon slayer with a rough past and was once the enemy to Fairy Tail. I don't know how this is supposed to work… A few moments ago, I didn't even think about it, but now that I am…"

Now it was my turn to kiss him for assurance. He looked at me in bewilderment, and I pointed towards his door. "Do you know what's out there?" His eyes wandered towards the direction I pointed. "That's our future," I answered for him. "We were meant to be together, and something obviously worked between us that we created a family together. Who cares who I am, and who cares what you've done? Do you know what happened after I stopped fearing you after the Phantom attack? I tried to understand you, and when I finally did, I began loving you. I don't blame you or hate you for anything. The past is the past, and I'm only looking at the present and the future. You're here with me, and some day from now, I know you'll still be with me."

Gajeel looked back at me with a quizzical expression. "You love me?"

I gave an exasperated shout. "Yes! Now stop moping and carrying on as if you're a nobody because to me…you're everything."

He kissed me suddenly. It held none of the heated passion a second ago, but something more bloomed from it. I realized that it was his way of agreeing. It was soft and gentle and explained everything more than words ever could even though his next couple changed my life forever.

"I love you too," he whispered and held me against his steel chest.

I smiled against him for a moment, soaking in the warmth of his body…but then it reminded me of my own problem. I pulled back slightly, and said, "So, want to show me what you were going to do before you stopped?"

He chuckled. "Gihee."

The next morning, I woke more alive than I had ever felt. Gajeel and I had spent most of the night exploring one another's bodies and learning what it meant to make love with your soul mate. The twins must have heard something, even though I tried to tone down on my screaming. They remained mostly quiet and kept shooting us disgusted looks. I probably should have felt bad, but I was in too good of a mood and simply chuckled.

After a quick breakfast made by Gajeel, I changed back into my clothes from yesterday and headed towards Fairy Hills. Once there, I showered quickly, put on a fresh set of apparel, and skipped to the guild. Lucy and the others should be back by now. Master had been right. I shouldn't have been worrying about them. The toughest members had been sent after all! I'm sure Lu-chan would be back, and I wanted to tell her everything about last night. She was shyer about these types of things, but it was always funny to see her blush when thinking of dirty ideas. Today was going to be great!

I sauntered through the guild doors, passing by the usual loitering members. Instead of going to my new boyfriend—that name sent thrills through me!—I went to the bar and parked myself near Cana. She was frowning down at her keg, an unusual dark aura around her. I elbowed her knee, and giggled. "What's wrong? Not potent enough this morning?"

Her eyes shot up to me, and she gasped. "Levy…you don't know?"

I felt a sudden creeping chill. "What's wrong?"

She gave me an apologetic expression and pointed her thumb towards the infirmary. I didn't need anyone to explain further as I bolted off my seat and ripped into the room, my eyes blazing from one bed to the other. I gasped in horror. Gray, Juvia, and Jay were getting bandaged up, while Laxus and Jellal sat whispering in a corner. Natsu was laid out on a cot, his mouth open, struggling to breath. Wendy sat over him, using her magic to try to relieve some of the bruises that covered nearly every inch of his skin. Happy was by his side with Carla and Lily, crying over his broken body.

"What happened?" I cried.

Juvia's eyes met mine, and tears started streaming down her face immediately. Laxus looked up, but when he saw me, he peered down at the floor in shame. Jellal wouldn't even gaze my way. When someone finally spoke, it broke my heart.

"L-lu…lucy…" Natsu muttered. "Nashi…"

My gaze darted around, but the two were nowhere to be found. My hands covered my mouth. "No…"

I stumbled backwards into a familiar hard body. When I turned around, Gajeel was shaking his head and pulled me into his arms as I started crying. Gray's voice rose over my cries, as finally he started to explain, "We were savagely ambushed. They used tranquilizers to knock us unconscious, and then proceeded to torture us while we were asleep. Aside from some physical aches, we're fine…Natsu struggled against them the most, so he received a worse beating. He'll be fine in a few hours though thanks to Wendy…but the other two…"

"They were taken," Erza finished. I hadn't even seen her occupying the last cot beside Laxus and Jellal. Scarlet sat beside her with her head bowed.

"What do we do now?" I asked, trying to wipe some of the tears away.

Erza punched the wall beside her, not caring or noticing that she literally put a hole through it. Her eyes were glaring evilly, and she snarled, "We're going after our nakama."

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**I wasn't exactly sure how I was going to write Gajeel and Levy's POV. From what I gathered in the manga and anime, Levy is a little bashful, but she's more up front about some things than Lucy. I don't think it's ever mentioned where Gajeel lived so I just made up some place. I thought it would be a little more romantic if maybe there was a hidden side of the iron dragon slayer that no one knew about him. He had to do something besides sing in his down time because obviously he wasn't practicing on that "great skill". Lol **

**SO... Please leave a review! I want to hear opinions and rants! I'll reply back to them if I can. I need ideas about where i should go from here. How is Fairy Tail going to defeat Morgania?**


	17. Chapter 17

**That double shift I worked last night is kicking my ass, but I promise to update soon!**

**I don't own Fairy Tail.**

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**Natsu's POV**

"AHHHH! I need Lucy! Let me go!" I bellowed, spouting fire out of my mouth like a maniac. They all thought I was crazy, but I could see it in their eyes. They were hungry for vengeance just as I was. Gray and Gajeel were tasked with keeping my arms restrained, but I was all too prepared to fight them if they wouldn't let go. They picked the wrong two bastards. "I need her!"

"Will you fucking stop?" Gajeel seethed, pissing me off even more. If I wasn't being restrained, I'd kick his ass, and Gray's too just for being here.

"No!" I shouted, setting myself on fire. Gajeel drove an iron fist into one cheek, and my head whipped around only to meet Gray's icy blast. My fire cooled instantly, but my temper only got hotter. Shit! I needed to save her! She could be out there be tortured or anything! And if anything were to happen to her…if she was to die—No! She's alive! I can feel it. I still have a chance. It's a small one, but I'll take it. I needed her…I needed to tell her that I was sorry for never telling her every day of my life how much I loved her. "Let me go!"

"NATSU!" Erza roared more frightening than any dragon I'd met. Her eyes pierced through me colder than Gray's ice. "We all want to find her, but you fuming and causing a racket is not helping anyone! It's only making us more anxious. We have no idea where she could have been taken, and unless you can offer any helpful information than keep your mouth shut before I force it together permanently. Am I understood?"

Gray and Gajeel trembled from her wrath, but I looked away from her, keeping my thoughts to myself for once. She was right, but I wasn't going to give her the satisfaction of her knowing that. Aside from a few minor scratches, Wendy had been able to heal her back into perfect health. The little dragon slayer had taken her time on helping all of us, and even though she was tired, she insisted on working on me until I was back to normal. Of course it took about a day for her to finish, and she was now resting in one of the beds in the infirmary. As soon as I could walk again, I was running around the guild hall until Erza caught me and made Gray and Gajeel hold me down.

We were sitting in the middle of the guild, me tied to a chair with Gajeel and Gray resting their hands on my shoulders in case I tried anything funny. Which happened as often as I could. I managed to escape them once, but Gramps used his freakishly giant hand to crush me and threw me back into the chair. Fucking Laxus almost keeled over, and Cana and Cane choked on their beers. Everyone thought it was hilarious that I couldn't move, but it was sick. They should be out finding Lucy, not restraining me!

I yelled in frustration again, but an iron fist knocked me against jaw. The chair I was sitting in wobbled and fell back and landed hard against the ground. I barked a curse and slung it at Gajeel, but that was when I found out that it wasn't him that hit me.

Two shadows stood over me with sardonic grins spreading across their face. "Maybe instead of being a stupid lizard, you can shut up for five seconds and ask who around who could actually help you," Leevi said, holding up an iron fist that resembled a small version of Gajeel's.

Gale started rubbing his chin. "Hmm," he pondered. "I wonder if we can make him scream one more time before we tell him where his precious girls are."

"What?" I gasped. My fighting spirit renewed, I started fighting against the restraints again with doubled effort. "How did you…? Where are they then?"

Ever reached down and lifted the chair back up. It was a little curious how such a small girl had enough strength to do that, but I'd have to fight her another time to find out. Her body shimmered and changed into the hag of an old woman—Lilith. I screamed in fear and started jumping away with the chair. She gripped my shoulder hard and winked flirtatiously. "Aww, my love…don't you want a nice sweet kiss?" She started coming closer with puckered lips, and my scream reached another octave.

Those around me started laughing, and Ever changed back to normal. "I infiltrated the mansion just before you were all attacked. I saw men running outside, taking positions in the bushes, and then Thomas led Lucy towards them. I hadn't figured it out yet, but I watched all of you fight and almost joined in when you were taken down with tranquilizers. I would have helped, but I had to follow Thomas when he took Lucy and Nashi. I couldn't follow them, but I placed a tracking devise on a few of the guards and one on Lucy before she got away."

"But…how?" I asked, dumbstruck.

"If you would have been quiet, we would have explained it to you a few minutes ago," Scarlet growled. "Evidently, the twins were up to their normal antics again…"

They chuckled and high fived. Gale explained, "We figured that there were some things that would happen—"

"Let's be honest, this is Fairy Tail. Misfortune follows us around wherever we go," Leevi inputted.

"So, just after everyone left for the ball in their separate carriages, Leevi and I devised a plan to use Ever to infiltrate the estate and make sure everything did go according to plan."

"Her magic she have been able to work though," Elfman argued, joining in on the conversation.

"Well of course not!" Leevi agreed. "But since we know our mother's script magic, it's not difficult to rewrite the spell that's on the land."

"We made sure that no one could use magic except for those with takeover magic," Gale continued. "We followed her to the ball, rewrote it and then came back with a transportation spell."

They both made a green face, and my stomach became nauseous at the idea of transportation. Leevi ran a hand through his hair when he recovered. "Anyways, before we left, we gave Ever devices that would track anyone that it was placed on. We had heard from Nashi about how a random guild had wanted the Heartfilia family to pay for her father's debts once, so we looked into it. At the festival when they first met, there was a rare artifact that would sell for a high price in the black market, and no one would know that expect for treasure hunters."

"At the time, we didn't think anything of it," Gale said. "But when we found out that the guild hunting down these keys were indeed treasure hunters, we looked up what the artifact was—a key hidden inside the Ferris wheel. They must have retrieved it before or after the attack, but it wasn't a coincidence that the same guild that knew Lucy was also seeking the three keys we were."

"So, as a precaution that they might show up and attack Lucy, we sent Ever," Leevi concluded. Him and his twin exchanged a knowing look and nodded. "Looks like it was the right call."

"You know where Lucy is then?" I shouted, amazed at their skills they obviously inherited from their mother. They were still freaks of nature though.

They shook their heads. "The tracking spell dropped somewhere in the desert. Some spell interfered with it, so it's obvious that the place where it stopped working is close to where they were taking her."

"I thought treasure hunters can't use magic?" Evergreen asked, brushing her hand against Elfman's arm. He smiled down at her, and Ever bounced towards her, curling into her arms. "Then how were they able to interfere?"

"Morgania…" A deep booming voice reverberated off the walls. The guild members looked around in fear as the lights started to flicker and eventually blew in their sockets. In the total darkness, we could see nothing except a shape of bright white peeking through the cracks of the walls outside the guild. A smile started forming on my face, just as the light etched out a shape in the wall and exploded. Dust and debris filled the air, and someone shouted about the guild being destroyed again.

I laughed uncontrollably, and somehow found myself on the ground, staring up at the man as he approached. Most feared and trembled in his wake, but I was the only one that stood tall against him, or tried. He was the only member of the guild—besides master—I could never win against no matter how much I tried. I always looked up to him. Well, except now since I was tied to a chair and unable to right myself.

His expression showed his obvious rage, but when a voice broke out from the back of the guild, his face melted into pure delight. I wanted to vomit. "Shit," Cana grumbled. "My old man is back."

"Cannnaaaa!" Gildarts sang as he jumped over everyone and landed beside her and wrapping her into a hug all in one movement. "I've missed you! Have you missed me? When are we going to explore the world together as father and daughter."

She pushed him away, cursing and spilling beer everywhere. "Get off me you creepy old man!"

Gildarts started crying happily, but then his eyes landed on the boy beside him. Cane, being about eighteen years old, probably sent the wrong impression to Gildarts. The boy stared at him in wonder, but Gildarts began to glower. His magic started to vibrate across the guild in his anger, and he approached him, ready to kill. "Who are you? My little girl's boyfriend? Well, if you think you are ever going to be able to date her, you're wrong. You have to defeat me to be with her, and I have never lost…"

Cane finally snapped out of his stupor and barked a loud laugh. His eyes narrowed like Gildart's, and he pressed his forehead against his in challenge. "Then, let's go old man."

Gildart's swung a fist, quickly and accurately at Cane. I've never been able to hold my own against him, and I knew from experience that this fight was over with just that one punch. When Gildart's knuckles collided with Cane's jaw, a sudden burst of powerful magic exploded, and Gildarts was flung backwards. He landed on me, crushing the chair I was in. I couldn't even release a shout before he was squishing me. I couldn't breathe anymore!

He grunted painfully and sat up, rubbing the back of his head. "Thanks for breaking my fall, Natsu," he said.

I started wheezing.

Cane stumbled down from the bar, laughing victoriously even though he'd only accomplished pushing back Gildarts. He lifted his hands into the air. "C'mon! You're never going to be able to hurt me with a weak punch like that."

Gildarts glared at him, and he started raising his magic around him, creating a barrier of white light that pulsed powerfully around his feet. Cane smirked and copied the action with the same blinding light. Scarlet helped me to my feet, and I thanked her.

"What kind of monster is he?" Jellal asked, watching them in awe.

Scarlet shrugged. "He never uses his magic. Even at the mansion, he was using only his fists or a bare minimum. His magic is too powerful, and he could easily destroy anything and anyone around him if he even lost control for a moment."

"He's a monster!" I cackled, suddenly excited that there were now two Gildarts."I want to fight—"

"That's enough!" Gramps voice thundered loudly. He was now in his giant form, and he was shaking in rage. Gildarts's and Cane's magic dispersed, but they wouldn't stop glaring at each other. Seeing that they weren't going to fight any more, he shrunk back down. "You will destroy the hall, and I will punish you both severely later. However, we have more important matters."

Gildarts sighed and crossed his arms unhappily. He looked at Gramps and said, "I found the location you asked me to seek. They should be in the east corner of the Sahr desert, but we need Natsu's nose to find them both."

I punched the air, shooting flames bouncing everywhere. "All right! We get to find Lucy!"

I started for the door, but Gildarts grabbed me by the scruff of my neck. "No, not yet."

"Why?" I complained. "She's out there somewhere, and we have to save her."

"We need a plan first," he stated simply and released me. I huffed angrily. "The magic I sensed back there didn't belong to any mage I knew, but it was something I sensed a long time ago when I first joined the guild…it was dark and was undeniably _hers_. If she's there somehow, then we need a plan of action to stop her."

"I have one," I shot back. "We crush her—"

"Natsu, that's not—" Erza started, but I interrupted.

"I don't care how we stop her!" I shouted. "But I'm not going to let her have Lucy or Nashi."

I tore away from the guild. Several tried to stop me, but I managed to wriggle past them. Happy lifted me into the air, and I directed him past everyone. I don't care what they do, but this had to stop now. I couldn't waste another second if that witch was there with Luce. I lost someone very dear to me once, and I wasn't about to let someone else I love be taken from me again!

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**Review!**


	18. Chapter 18

**Hey guys! Sorry it's been so long since I last updated. I've been really busy with work and everything. **

**Just a warning: The FEELS will be so REAL in this chapter! I even started tearing up as I wrote it. **

**Another warning: I started writing another fanfiction. It's another NALU, but it's more intense than this story. I haven't posted it yet, but be on the look out for it! It'll be called "The Bounty." I might be writing both at the same time, because this one will be coming to an end soon :( **

**PLEASE REVIEW! **

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**Nashi's POV**

_**Flashback**_

_"Papa, catch me!" I boldly shouted, launching myself without warning off the edge of the building. Mama began shrieking in fear, but without fail, Papa was underneath me, cradling me in his arms just before we crumbled to the ground in relief. _

_ Papa sighed heavily as I sat up on his chest. He looked almost pained, but it was probably because it was my fourth disappearance and jump this afternoon alone. I knew he was getting tired of this game, but I loved how he always saved me! Of course, even if he wasn't there, I would be fine. Hurt and sore but perfectly fine. _

_ "Nashi!" Mama yelled as she offered me her hand. I let her help me to my feet and laughed at the disheveled Papa underneath me. Mama snapped my attention quickly to her though when she started chastising me for being reckless and needing to be careful. I pursed my lips and looked away. She helped Papa back up, brushing off the dirt from his clothes. _

_ "Aww, Luce," he said, sensing my soured mood. "It's okay to be a little rebellious now and again!" Rough hands ruffled my pink locks, and I swatted his hand away. He laughed at my puny attempts. I growled threatening at him, giving him a small warning. His eyes sharpened, and the challenge was on. I lunged at him, and we started wrestling. _

_ Mama appeared completely deflated and shook her head, but a small, content smile played on her lips. "What am I going to do with you two?"_

* * *

_ Mama's calm hands brushed gently through my hair, combing out the knots from the earlier scuffle with Jay at the guild. That boy was always testing my nerves, and since I was my Papa's child, I had to teach him a lesson. Of course, it ended too soon when Scarlet intervened. She tried to separate us, but then the twins started up again. We used it as a distraction, and Jay and I snuck away from the prodding eyes of the guild. _

_ We sat on the rooftop, gazing at the fiery horizon until it was chased away by the icy moon. No one knew yet about our blooming relationship, and neither did we at the time. Jay was always teasing about being in love with me, but I never understood the depth of his feelings until he grabbed my hand and looked me deep in the eyes and told me why I was so special to him. _

_ My cheeks were so hot, I thought I had lost control of my magic again, and my heart was pounding loudly in my chest for unknown reasons. He asked to kiss me, and I did the only logical thing I could. I ran away. I wasn't about to kiss a boy who made me feel so queasy and light and hot and weird all at once! It didn't make sense! But…what if it was because I maybe liked him back?_

_ "Mama," I pondered, "what is it like to love someone?"_

_ "Oh?" she wondered, her hands hesitating for a brief moment. In the mirror, I could see her sneaky smile, and my cheeks felt hot even before she asked: "Would this have anything to do with a certain ice mage?"_

_ "N-no!" I protested too quickly. My eyes shot to the side of the mirror where I could see a reflection of Papa snoozing on the couch. With my dragon hearing, I could tell he was still dead to the world, and I sighed in relief. This was one conversation I didn't want him to hear. Mama gave me a knowing smile and waited patiently for me to explain. Guess there was no denying it now… "Well, maybe. I'm not really sure yet."_

_ She giggled and resumed combing my hair. "It's okay to not completely understand your feelings. Love is very confusing, but it's very magical also."_

_ "It is?" I asked, perked up by the idea of learning another magic._

_ Mama only laughed, guessing my line of thought. "Not like that exactly. It's very strong, but it's more than just power. It's beautiful and wonderful. It changes people for the better, and no matter what, it's the one thing that no one can ever take away from you."_

_ My eyes could only see her serious expression, but I could read so much pain hidden within her that she was not ready to reveal. I didn't know why she was suddenly so sad, but I couldn't take the agony anymore. My hands stopped hers, and I hugged her tightly. She was shocked at first, but returned the embrace softly. She kissed the top of my hair just as I told her how much I loved her._

_ "To the stars and beyond!" I promised. _

_ Mama quivered in my arms, and though I couldn't see the tears, I could smell them. "And then to the heavens and back again."_

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_ "Again!" Papa demanded, throwing another rock the size of Happy at me. _

_ I shuddered from the physical exhaustion, my breath ragged, but I forced my body to keep moving. We had already been through the same drill a thousand times, but it was never enough. I had to keep going, had to keep pushing my limits. How else was I going to get stronger? How else was I going to protect the guild?_

_ I dodged the rock, cursing and shouting when an enemy attacked from my left. It was Loke, pretending to be a member of a dark guild controlled by Morgaina. He wore a dead expression and acted more insane than usual. Mama stood beside Papa with her arms folded, watching anxiously if I could finally pull it off. _

_ Papa flung another rock, and I barely dodged Loke's attacked coupled with the projectile. The rock smashed against a nearby tree, catching Loke's attention, and I used the distraction as an advantage. My fire dragon iron fist attack landed squarely against his jaw, and he was sent flying backwards only to be replaced with Virgo. Her attacks were always the most vicious, but it wouldn't be fun any other way. _

_ I blocked and parried against her the best I could, but I was reaching my physical limit. Good. This is what we had been aiming for. Hopefully this time, I wouldn't fail. At my side dngled a pouch of golden keys that belonged to Mama. Though the spirits had no contract with me, being the daughter of their celestial owner, I still should have some power over them. That was the theory anyways. _

_ Loke and Virgo were both attacking me, and I knew it was either now or never. I ignited my entire body on fire, calling forth my dragon force and opened my magic flow up to absorb more power. Pulling the keys from the pouch, I tossed them into the air where they hovered above me. Loke looked pleased, but I tried to ignore him as I concentrated on opening up my magic channels to fulfill dual magic. _

_ Every mage of the new generation was able to use dual magic. They had to become stronger in this world to survive, but I was the only unable to use both parents' magic. However, today I changed all of that. _

_ "Unison magic!" I shouted as I felt the rush of fire dragon slayer and celestial spirit magic start flowing through my veins. The power lifted me into the air, and I closed my eyes to focus. The magic power was intense, and my already exhausted body was beginning to shake from the force. Light poured out from my skin and fire licked up my sides. The magic was fighting for dominance, and it was always this moment where I failed. I couldn't control them both because they were both so uniquely strong. There was a possibility that I could literally be torn apart, but after five years of intense training, I refused to give in to the fear of failure. _

_ However, my body was telling me the opposite of my heart's will. Underneath my calm demeanor, it felt like there was a raging war between dragons and spirits. One tried claiming its territory while the other fought for it. It was too much. I could feel the fire building inside me, and for once, it was too hot. A piercing scream filled the air, and I knew without any doubt it belonged to me. _

_ A shock of cold flooded through me suddenly, and I collapsed on the ground in a crumpled heap of tears and pain. Golden keys lied beside me in the grass, flickering warm sunlight off its perfect edges. I snarled in frustration and exhaled a heart breaking sob. Mama and Papa were beside me in an instant. Mama's hands were pulling me towards her, and I could just make out her words._

_ "You pushed her too hard again!"_

_ "She asked to be trained like this!"_

_ "Just because she asks for something ridiculous doesn't mean you agree!"_

_ "Luce, she's just like me, and you know I wouldn't give up without giving it my all."_

_ Mama huffed, and I buried my face in her chest, hiding my leaking eyes. "I-I…I'm s-so sorryyy," I wailed, apologizing for no true reason. I had failed true, but I was only letting myself down, no one else. Mama pulled me away to look at her, and I wiped angrily at my eyes before I met her gaze. _

_ "Don't you ever be sorry for doing your best," she said. "Celestial magic is difficult to handle, and with your powerful dragon slayer magic, it's infinitely more tough. However, that doesn't mean you should look down on yourself for failing. Only when you stop trying will you ever truly fail. And, no matter what, Nashi. I will always love you for being the brave and beautiful girl you are."_

_ She was smiling tenderly at me, her brown eyes welling up with tears. Papa stood close behind her, his hand resting on her shoulder. He gave me a proud grin and pulled us both into a strong hug. Mama squealed, and I laughed, instantly feeling better. I may not be able to use the magic yet, but I was sure with the support of my parents, I'd able to!_

* * *

_ "Mama? Papa?" _

_ I wandered down the abandon streets, sniffing the air for their scents. I could just smell the vanilla perfume of Mama and the spice of Papa, but it was faint, blocked out by a thick variation of others. Even though it was eerily quiet, I could still sense a lot of people. It wasn't right, and the hairs on my skin began to stand up with the surmounting fear and anxiety. My feet pounded harder into the pavement with each new wave of panic washing through me. _

_ An explosion finally ended the silence, and the building beside me crumbled into ashes. I leaped through the thick of the smoke, coughing. Dodging the falling debris, I nearly escaped with my life. Where I had stood not a second ago was piles of brick and wood. Launching myself higher, I utilized the rubble to launch myself onto the nearest building. I kept my body low when I finally reached the top because I heard shouting below on the opposite side. Creeping silently, I sensed Papa's magic and heard Mama scream. _

_ What's going on? Morgania wasn't here, that much I could sense, but who were they fighting? _

_ When I reached the roof's edge and peered downwards to the street, I instantly wished I hadn't. A small shriek of terror broke through my mouth, and I had to cover my lips before I attracted attention. But, it was so hard not to panic when I looked at my parents. Mama was fighting with her whip, and I could sense that all of her magic was now gone. Papa was bleeding profusely from the side of his head, and both were littered with scratches and fresh bruises. _

_ Men and women of every shape and size surrounded them for nearly a mile, and I knew then that though they were the most unstoppable team, even they couldn't escape this. Many were thrown aside, shaking off the effects of being burned by Papa. He must have sent them lying back into the building and caused the explosion himself. Both of my parents were struggling to breath, and they shot each other a worried look. _

_ No! I couldn't take this! I couldn't let them die! I tried wrenching myself off the side of the building, but a pair of strong hands dragged me back, away from the street. I tried screaming, but a hand slapped over my mouth. Without turning around, I knew who was holding me, and I cursed Mama because I knew this was her doing. _

_ "Momke…" I mumbled incoherently, jabbing my elbow into his stomach. _

_ Air whooshed from him in a hurry, and I used the opening to wrench away from his grip. However, the lion-man was stronger and faster, and I barely made it to the end of the roof before he tackled me, and he pushed me flat against the roof using his full body weight on top of me. His hand snaked around and covered my mouth again, but this time I was thankful. I didn't know when I started screaming, and I never knew when I truly stopped after watching this. _

_ Papa finally ran out of magic, and he collapsed in a broken heap on the ground. Mama was at his side in an instant, but she didn't help him up. She stayed down with him, and I knew they had both given up. Mama took Papa's face in her hands and kissed him hard and fast. He pulled her into a hug, and whispered in a voice too low for anyone other than a dragon slayer to hear, "I love you." _

_ That was when the mob descended onto them. It was a tangle of cries, metal clashing, and blood. Oh, so much blood running everywhere in the streets. But, just as quickly as it started, it was over, and the crowd soon turned on each other, still in a mad frenzy. Loke pulled me farther away from the sight, and I curled into his body, tears streaming silently down my face. He buried his own eyes in my hair, and we held each other tight until long into the night when the sounds of the people seceded, and nothing was left except the heavy stench of death and the silence of the slaughter. _

_ I didn't have to fight Loke much, when I knew it was safe. I stumbled like a drunk as I slowly descended down, trying not to study one mangled face for too long as I passed the corpses. Once upon a time, I might have known someone, but I didn't want that burden on my heart. Not when it was already barely holding itself together with a single thread. I wasn't sure what I was looking for when I found them. I guess some small part of me had hoped it was all a grand trick like the games we played as kids, and I wanted to believe that they were still alive, still with me somewhere on this earth. _

_ But, when I reached the bodies, everything I knew about love and life seemed to fade away far from my reach. They held hands, even to the end. Their bodies faced each other as if to wish one more sweet good night before their lives flickered out of existence. Eyes closed, and lips partially parted, they appeared to be sleeping. Trembling, I laid down between them, pretending that we were still a family here, hoping that we could sleep together once more like we used to back when I was a child. For a moment, I closed my eyes and prayed that that's where we were, back in the past. I snuck into my parents' room and cuddled between them. Soon, they'd smile and snuggle closer to me. They'd tell me they loved me once more, and we would wake up and this horrible nightmare would be over._

_ I whispered to darkness surrounding me, "I love you to the stars and beyond..." Then, because I knew there would be no reply, I finished the silly verse in their stead, "And then to the heavens and back again."_

_ That's all this was right? A horrible nightmare? It couldn't be real…Mama and Papa were still with me. We were still a family…still together forever…_

* * *

_Sobs broke through me, and I don't know when it stopped or when I was moved away from the scene. I suspected Loke had opened his own gate and carried me to an empty and broken home. Whoever it was, I woke to more tears at the realization that I was suddenly alone in this world. I cried most of the morning, and when I stopped it was already night. I hadn't eaten anything all day, but I wasn't hungry. I trudged through the house, and nearly lost it again when I passed by my parent's bedroom. _

_I went into the living room, and on the table sat the leather pouch containing my mother's keys. Anger, hot and uncontrollable, boiled inside me, and I snatched the keys into my hands and chunked them as hard as I could across the room. _

_"Damn you!" I shouted at the spirits. "Where were you when we needed you?"_

_I chased after them, only to pick them up and hurl them into the opposite wall, breaking a painting Levy had given Mama. My hands snaked through my hair, and I pulled hard, screaming as I fell to my knees. Fire blasted around me, burning everything within twenty feet. _

_"Why couldn't I save them? Why am I so pathetic?"_

_My body was hot and felt ready to explode, but the inferno on my body was chilled over by a thick layer of ice. The sudden loss of magic and lack of energy in general made me weak, and I toppled to the side. Jay suddenly appeared, shouting blurred words at me, but I soon fainted. _

* * *

My eyes flickered heavily, and I groaned from my aches and pain waking at the same time. The memories of the past always haunted my dreams. In my sleep, it was the one place where I couldn't escape, and every night I had to fight the same heart break. After that night that Jay had found me, he had taken me to the guild where I continued to live with the other orphans like Scarlet, the twins, and Ever. Though I was constantly surrounded by others, I often wandered outside at night, and Loke would join me to look at the stars. It took many years until my depression faded, but it became a ritual of ours. He would tell me about the spirits and how to control them, and sometimes Jay would help me practice. But, no matter how much I tried to control them, I could never control it. However, I still carried Mama's keys with me as a memento.

Even at the ball, I had the keys strapped to my leg underneath my dress. Wait…that's right! The ball! My eyes shot around, finally taking notice of where I was. Mama sometimes used to say I was a dense and slow as Papa, now I kind of understood what she meant. My wrists were shackled above my head to the wall, and powerful runes were etched into the metal to prevent me from using magic to escape. Damn! I pulled against them, testing their strength, but any effort to pull them off would prove futile.

They never stopped me before though. Since I couldn't see anything in the dark cell where the only light source came from a small window about the size of my hand on the cell door, I decided there was nothing to investigate, and I put all my effort into yanking on the chains. Shit, these things were ridiculously strong! Sweat beaded on my skin, and the skin around the shackles began to rub against the metal. Rivulets of blood snaked down my arms, and I bit my lip from crying in pain. After one last tug, I yelled in frustration and sunk to the ground.

That clearly wasn't going to work so I needed another plan of action, but I froze when I heard the sounds of feet marching closer.

"She's this way," a familiar husky voice grunted outside the door. A lock grinded open, and the door swung forward. I squinted against the harsh light, trying to see the men as they approached. One of them I realized early was the man from the festival that I had taken down. Thank goodness I looked different then, or else he probably would kill me. Two more men pooled in after him and started working on my chains. My eyes finally adjusted, and my gaze found a fourth man lingering just outside the door, a bored expression on his face.

I glowered at Thomas and hissed, "Who else have you taken?"

The master of the treasure hunter guild only smirked before he looked at the other bulky man and said, "Mont, if she speaks again, I want you to punish her." He turned on his heel then and disappeared.

Mont smiled at me as if he had one a huge victory. I scowled back just as they goons undid the chains from the wall and started dragging me forward after their master. Mont laughed and crooned, "The poor little dragon slayer is all tied up like a caged rodent." I spit on him, and he back handed me so hard I saw stars. He wiped the saliva off his face and nodded towards the other two. They pulled hard against the chains, and I pitched forward, almost face planting. They dragged me through hallways that reeked of rot.

My head swiveled around as I tried to look for an escape route or take note of anything unique, but every cell was the same. A bright light was lit at the end of the hall, and I knew that was my destination. Fear prickled against my skin, and I broke out with goose bumps. Wherever we were heading, I could sense a strong and dark magic that felt too familiar to me.

Panicking, I yanked the chains connected to my wrists, and the two unsuspecting idiots holding me fell back. One landed flat on his butt, and he jerked around to look at me. I landed a solid kick on him, and he was out before he hit the ground. The other had only stumbled temporarily, and now that he had restored his footing, he pulled back on the chain to make me obey him. I flew towards him, but I head butted him in the stomach, and he dropped the chain and flew back against the wall.

I laughed with victory and spun around to find Mont. His mighty fist landed squarely against my ribs, and I screamed as something inside me crunched. I fell in a broken heap, clutching my side. Mont's hand grabbed the top of my hair, and he lifted me up until our faces were only inches apart. "You're going to regret that you fucking bitch," he seethed.

"Bring it, asshole," I spat back.

His hand connected with my cheek, and I felt my lip split open and blood trickled into my mouth. I didn't even have time to recover before he was dragging me towards the source of the magic again by my hair. He cursed at the two that had fallen and mumbled something about doing the job himself.

My eyes closed, and I concentrated on breathing past the pain in my side. I didn't want to look when we finally reached the room, and Mont tossed me against a wall. I howled in pain and collapsed on the ground. I didn't fight it when he undid the shackles and pulled them away from my wrists. I peeped through my pinched eyes and noticed that the room I was in now was unlike the dungeon place I had been before. In this room, everything was white: the floor, the walls, the ceiling. In my filthy dress, tanned skin, and pink hair, I'm sure I looked just as out of place as Mont. When I looked at him quizzically, I noticed that his expression betrayed his fear. He picked up the chains then and left.

I watched after him, wanting to be anywhere but where I was now. Especially when I heard my mother's voice say, "It's time to start the purging."

Fear gripped every inch of me, and it took every ounce of effort to look towards the source. Mont must have been blocking the view earlier, because there was no way I could have missed the giant, bleached throne taking up most of the room, with Mama, adorned in an old Victorian style crimson dress, sitting upon it. Black eyes that did not belong to her smiled down at me, and I realized that the source of the dark magic—Morgania's magic—had been coming from her.

* * *

**Holy plot twist batman! What's happened to Lucy? What's going to happen to Nashi? Where is the guild when you need them?**

**It's all coming up next! Leave a review and tell me what you think will happen, and what you want to see! Spoiler: Next chapter will have a lot of NaLu!**


	19. Chapter 19

**This chapter is going to be really long! Sorry, but not really. It was a lot of fun writing it. **

**Some parts may be a little confusing, because I was in too much of a hurry to write it, and some details I didn't exactly focus on.**

**REVIEW! THANK YOU!**

**Disclaimer: I do not own Fairy Tail. It is Hiro Mashima's. **

* * *

**Lucy's POV**

_**Flashback**_

"Ugh…" I groaned, stretching out my aching muscles and feeling the fresh bruises and scratches along my skin. My fingers traced the knot on my skull where I had fallen against the ground several times and could only assume banged it again when they threw me in this cell. Mavis! It felt like the first time Natsu and I had ever sparred, and I was sore everywhere. Memories of last night flittered through my mind as I recalled the cause behind my pain.

Thomas. I was going to kill that son of a bitch for what he did to me, and whatever happened to my nakama. Though they are strong and most likely escaped, I could only imagine what horror had preceded after I was tranquilized. If they so much as laid a finger on my daughter…

"Looks like someone is as fired up as usual." My head snatched around towards the source of the voice where that bastard dared smirked from the doorway. The burly man from the festival whispered something to him, but Thomas waved him off and shut the door. His attention returned to me, and he walked forward until he was close enough to see my face in the dim lighting. He rubbed his chin, examining me with his beady eyes and making my skin crawl in disgust. "Looks like we'll have to work on you a little bit, but your body should do."

I tensed, and clenched my legs tighter together. My heartbeat sped up, and it felt as if all the breath had been knocked from my lungs. They wanted my body? Oh, please it wasn't what I had originally thought…

Thomas's silence didn't make me feel any more comfortable, and he seemed to realize that his lack of explanation was driving me into a panic. Without so much as a word, he walked back towards the door, but as he reached for the handle, something bright fell out of his pocket. I shrank back in horror realizing that all my theories were correct. Thomas only smirked again and left me alone with the blasted key he had stolen from his mother and the other Lord's estate.

_Shit!_ I cursed and pressed closer to the wall. _Shit! Shit! Shit! Shit!_

_Lucy, my dear? Whatever is the matter? _ A calming voice whispered in my head as gentle and soothing as a mother cooing her newborn child.

I whimpered, covered my ears, and pinched my eyes shut tight. _Don't listen to it, Luce! _ I yelled at myself. _It's only an illusion. It's not the real thing…_

_What do you mean, sweetheart? _The voice lulled again. I could sense a powerful magic growing with each word that sung through my mind. It started slowly weaving its invisible claws into me, but I fought against it, willing it to unhook itself and leave me alone. _Don't you want me, my dear Lucy? I can help you…_

_No!_ I shouted, praying for my strength to stay with me. I took an unsteady breath and tried to block out the voice and the unwelcoming presence. _It's okay, Luce. You can do this! Think! Natsu will be here soon probably. He's always come for you before, and he'll certainly save you this time. _

_That boy? But he doesn't even love you Lucy._

_Shut up!_ My heart wrenched uncertainly, doubting. _He'll be here soon!_

_But, Lucy… Can't you see he never loved you? _The voice taunted, and with great effort, it pulled memories forward in my head, forcing me to watch as Natsu played pranks on me, snuck over to my apartment, that time he only needed me for Virgo to dig something up for him, and called me Luigi after he invited me to the guild. Conversations with others echoed in my mind as I watched these images. They were with Gray and Mira as they explained his deep connection with Lisanna before she disappeared in Edolas, or with Erza proving his love for the guild. _See dear? Your "love" for him is demented. He only saves you because you are a friend and nothing more. He saves your friends just as much as you. You're nothing special to him…you NEVER were._

_But, that's just how Natsu is… _I tried, but something was starting to block my memories of all the good times I had ever shared with the dragon slayer. Good times? When had I ever had good times with him? We were just partners, using each other to make money. In fact, he was the reason why I was constantly broke because he was always destroying towns and causing us to pay our reward for repairs. If it wasn't for him…

_Now you're starting to see, _the voice sang gently. _But it's okay, my dear. I love you._

_But I don't know you…do I?_

_Lucy, Lucy. How could you not recognize me? _

There was a sharp tug on my head, and I screamed in pain and fell to the ground. My head felt as if there were needles being inserted in my brain at every location simultaneously. My hands gripped my head as if the added pressure would keep it together or at least cease the pain. However, the sensation only intensified, and my shrieks grew louder and more frantic. It felt like I was about to be killed, and my body was going through hell.

But, then everything snapped back into place, and my limbs fell to my sides dumbly as I stared up at the rotting ceiling. I urged my body to move, but it wouldn't obey. I tried shouting, but my voice was stuck in my throat. Something felt wrong, as if I were stuck inside a lifeless body with my mind still racing.

Then, my body shuddered from laughter. "Oh, Lucy." My mouth spoke, and my voice slithered out, but it was not by my consent that the words came. "You are not alive anymore dear. You are mine."

Fear gripped every ounce of me, but there was nothing I could do. My body no longer belonged to me. Back at the party when we were speaking about the Lord going mad, I had an idea blossom in my mind, but I thought it so improbable that I pushed it aside. Only now did I realize the true danger of not fully exploring it. When the keys were created and Morgania's body was locked away, it occurred to me that perhaps a sliver of her being had escaped and possessed the keys given to the lords. If she somehow had, that means she could easily still take control of anyone around the artifact…just as she had done.

_Shit!_ I shouted, as my body wrenched itself into a standing position. My right foot tried moving forward, but I fought against the command and control over my body. However, just as my foot settled back down, the previous pain struck through me, and I was stuck screaming silently into my own mind.

_You are mine now, Luce. I am you, and you are me. Understood? _Morgania's voice trembled through me.

_NEVER! _ I cried and was wracked with a stronger wave of pain. The power disappeared, and my will started to fade a small amount.

_Who are you?_ The sorceress asked again.

_I'm Lucy Heartfilia, _I answered coldly, but my answer was met with another shock.

When it receded, she tried again. _Who are you?_

_A fairy tail wizard! _ I shouted so loudly, I thought maybe I actually said the words, but Morgania tusked and pain swelled inside me again. It lasted for more than a minute, and I thought surely I was going to die.

_I cannot let you die, _Morgania chuckled. _We are the same. Now…who are you?_

"I'm Morgania de' Claire," I purred with a confident and bedazzling smirk. Silly me for ever doubting I was any different. I strode towards the door and yanked open the cell. Thomas and Mont, that blasted idolizer of his, jumped in surprise. Mont was quick to draw a blade, but I laughed at him before sending him flying down the hall with a wave of my hand.

Thomas at least had some manners. He swooped a low bow, and donned a kiss on my hand. "My Queen," he droned and stood straight. "What are your commands?"

I smiled at the anxious little weasel that had scrounged me up out of the ashes of a fallen lord and the pocket of his grotesque mother. "Ready the prisoner and have her meet me in the Great Hall whenever I have finished my bath," I demanded and started for the chambers he had prepared for me a few hours ago when he first presented me my new body. "We will start the execution of the mages with her."

_**Present **_

**Nashi's POV**

"What have you done you monster?" I growled, my hands flaring to life with fire. It felt so good to finally feel the heat again, and it blazed hotter knowing that my true enemy was prematurely before me. This was not how the battle against her was supposed to happen. The guild was supposed to be here at my side, but this only meant that I could protect them by taking her down myself. The only problem was I was afraid if I killed Morgania, than I would hurt Mama also. There had to be some other way to get them separated, but what?

"Nashi, my darling," Lucy's voice purred, but I knew it was not her speaking. A thin finger tapped her chin as she thought a moment. "Hmm…Looking through my memories, it would seem that we have met before, only in the future." She shot me a wicked smile. "So glad to know my plans worked."

Shadows enveloped her right arm, creating a giant sword, and without warning, she swung it forward. The shadows sliced across the floor towards me, breaking apart the ground like a knife slicing through butter. I barely dodged the attack, and some of my dress caught the blow, tearing the back off and exposing my lower calves. Realizing then that I was still wearing a dress, I ignited by body and burnt through the silky material until nothing was left except my heat resistant tank top and shorts I always wore. Jane had begged me not to wear it beneath my dress, but I knew it would be easy to hide since the neckline was so high. Looking back, I'm glad I talked her into it. I kicked off the heels towards a corner of the room and took a defensive position. Lucy laughed.

"So you want a fight, little dragon slayer?" she cackled. She whipped her hand horizontally, and I rolled to avoid another deadly blow of her shadow blade. My movements only amused her, and I was beginning to get sick of this witch laughing with my mama's voice! "I think we both know how this ends," she drawled, and she beckoned more shadows forward.

Lucy thrust her hands forward, and the darkness began attacking from everywhere: the walls, the floor, the ceiling… I jumped into the air, dodging a wicked attack at my feet, while at the same time using a fire kick to extinguish the darkness. The shadow I hit shriveled away like a wounded animal, and I landed gently on the balls of my feet. Another blade sliced near my head from the roof, but I leaped to the side. It missed, and I used my fire dragon iron fist to destroy it. More came at me all at once, and I was soon tangled in the darkness, screaming as it slithered up my skin and clenched tight around my muscles. I struggled against the entanglement, but my efforts were for naught.

Laughter bubbled from the throne, and Lucy said, "Give up child. No one can hear you scream. You are going to die all alone while your pitiful mother watches while she's trapped inside her own body."

She lifted her hand, and the shadows obeyed her command as they raised me about five feet off the ground. I continued to fight against them, but I couldn't help myself from throwing a look over to Mama's body. The woman I stared at had no remorse that she was about to kill her own daughter, but I knew she was still in there somewhere. "M-Mama…" I coughed, and the shadows flinched tighter around me until there was no more air. Lucy flashed one last sadistic smile, and her hand closed into a hard fist.

The shadows swirled around me, forming a black, swirling vortex, and as they continued to squeeze tighter, depriving me of oxygen completely, I could feel my magic also being absorbed. I tried igniting my body on fire, but the darkness was sweeping me away. My body was beginning to feel heavy, and my eyes began to droop with exhaustion. I could feel my life slipping farther away, and a tear fell from my eye as all my fears of failure raced into my mind. I guess my parents were wrong. I am nothing but a disappointment.

No! This was not how it was going to end! My fists clenched at my sides, and I screamed, trying to through sheer force of will to use my magic. Flickers of ember sparked around me, but I continued to try. I couldn't give up. I wouldn't give in!

"Fire Dragon Iron Fist!"

"Ahh!" I screeched, as the shadows around me dropped, and I fell out of the darkness and into the arms of my papa. His regular lopsided grin flashed across my face, and I shot one back at him. Behind him were two lifeless bodies of Thomas's goons. Papa must have used them to find out where we were! I laughed and threw my arms around his neck in a tight embrace.

"Are you okay?" he asked, suddenly serious. I pulled back and nodded, wiping the tears from my eyes. I tried to answer, but his hands pulled me back into a tight hug, and he whispered, "I was so scared I lost you."

I smiled gently. "I love you, Papa."

He tensed for a second, and then with a content sigh, he pulled back and kissed my forehead. "I love you too, Nashi."

"Love…" Lucy all but growled from her throne. She was stretched across it, her blood red dress trickling around her like spilt wine. "What could you possibly know about love, Salamander?"

He stumbled back when he realized who was talking to him. "Luce…" he murmured, but I could tell he sensed something was off about her.

I grabbed his hand, but he didn't acknowledge me. He kept glowering at the woman sitting on the throne. "It's not her," I tried to explain. "It's Morgania. She possessed the keys Master Makarov used to lock her up with, and has taken over every owner of the key. Now, she's possessing Mama!"

"It's not nice to speak of your, mother that way," Lucy mocked, wagging her finger in the way. "Someone should teach you some manners." She waved her hand, and my shadow took control of my body and casted me into the wall at the back of the room. Air whooshed out my lungs, and I crumbled to the floor in an exhausted heap.

"Nashi!" Natsu shouted, his hands blazing with fury. His head whipped around to Lucy. "Where is my nakama? Give her back!"

She tusked and stood up from her throne. She descended the short stair until she was standing mere feet from the flaming dragon slayer. "Nakama, partner, friend, companion, teammate…there were so many words that we were, Natsu. You are the reason for this after all—"

"I don't give a damn!" Papa shouted, infuriated. "You're not, Lucy. Give her back!"

Lucy laughed and flicked her wrist. Papa's shadow went rogue on him as well, and he was soon tossed aside against the wall beside me. A small yelp escaped him when he hit, and he slumped back for a moment. Lucy walked forward, shaking her head. "I am Lucy, and I don't like to be interrupted," she explained, and knelt beside Papa. He growled, and she slapped him across the face. Hard. He went white in shock, and Lucy snarled at him, "Look at what you have done to me, Natsu." She spread her arms out; beckoning to the darkness that started circling around her like the black night flows around the stars. Her pale fingers slid under the bewildered dragon slayer's chin, forcing him to look closer into her eyes as she whispered, "You never saw how much I cared for you, and you never so much as liked me in return. Now, it's too late. You'll never have me back."

My head suddenly grew dizzy, and a soft moan escaped my lips as I fell to the floor. Everything around me grew fuzzy, and I lifted my hand in front of my face, watching as it wavered in and out of existence. "Oh…no…" I mumbled faintly. Papa's eyes shot towards me, and he took a sharp inhale of air as he watched the phenomenon. I pointed towards Lucy. "She doesn't love you," I tried to explain. "That means, if you two never fall in love, I won't exist anymore…"

"But, she's right. I never liked her." His face fell, and he cursed quietly. Lucy started to laugh, but his hands shot up and pushed her back with all his might until she was flung back about ten feet. Papa was suddenly on his feet, his body surrounded by a pillar of fire, and his eyes glowered back at the witch that possessed his Lucy. He shot her a venomous look, and then helped me to my feet. "I know you could fade away at any moment, but I'm not going to let that happen. I'm not going to let someone I love disappear right before my eyes…not again."

I didn't know whether he meant Mama or me. He closed his eyes for a moment to think, but when he opened them again, there was a fire burning deep inside that couldn't ever be snuffed out. I smiled at him and grabbed his hand. He grinned, and I gestured towards Lucy. "Well, if I'm going, I'm going with a bang. Shall we?"

No one could persuade me that his look was evil than Morgania.

**Natsu's POV**

My hand clenched tighter around hers, as both our bodies ignited with a blazing heat that even Igneel would have been impressed by. I nodded at Nashi, and we separated, going at Lucy from different angles. The witch inside her only rolled her eyes in annoyance, and she lifted her hands, summoning her shadow demons. A war cry sounded from deep inside me as I blasted my way through each of the monsters. Even a little taste of fire turned them into ash, but in their place was always a new creature.

After about the twentieth monster, I shouted in frustration and yelled, "Fire Dragon's roar!" Fire erupted up from my belly and out, torching every last one of these bastards, even the ones Nashi was fighting. She looked slightly annoyed that I ended her fight too soon, but she took a strong stance beside me as we faced Lucy.

She laughed wickedly. "You don't want to fight, Salamander. Aren't you worried that you'll hurt me?" She started to laugh again, but it was cut off suddenly with a scream. Lucy clenched her head, and fell to her knees. She groaned in pain, and her eyes danced everywhere. When they landed on me, she pleaded, "N-natsu…help me…"

"Lucy!" I cried. I was by her side in three long strides, reaching for her. Nashi shouted a warning behind me, but it was too late when Lucy snapped back to the way she was and attacked. A sword of shadows formed around her hand, and I gasped in pain as I tried dodging but still caught a graze against my side. It ripped through my shirt, and I could already feel the blood starting to trickle out.

Lucy rose to her feet, smiling sardonically. "I told you, you wouldn't want to fight me," she snickered, raising her sword over her head. I could only watch as I was paralyzed in shock as it started to descend. A blast of fire knocked her aside before it could touch me, and Nashi was by my side, burning with vengeance.

"Don't you dare touch, Papa," she snarled. Her eyes burned a hot red just like the flames swirling around her body. "I'm not afraid of hurting Lucy underneath, because I know how to defeat you… I'll burn you to a crisp, bitch."

I laughed and jumped to my feet, snapping back to the situation. I was afraid of hurting Lucy, but as long as Nashi believes we can defeat her, I'll be at her side. Besides, I loved the idea of setting this Morgania on fire… I'm all fired up.

Lucy growled, "If it's a fight you want then bring it. Just keep in mind…the brighter the flames, the larger the shadow." The shadows leaped around her like a cape, and she shouted in a foreign language, commanding them forward to swarm us and envelope us like a blanket until there was nothing left.

Nashi and I exchanged glances, and we nodded. She intertwined her hand in mine, and we started forward, raising the fire around us as high as we possibly could. Then, with simultaneous movements, we skidded to a halt, and pulled the hands linked together back. The fire extinguished around us, shrouding us in the darkness as it filled the space around us. Just as our vision blackened, we cried, "Secret Dragon Slayer Art, Fire Dragon Unison Blast!" Flames engulfed our hands, and we hurled it forward, all the fire in our bodies focused on escaping through our hands. It exploded like a bomb, rumbling the building we stood in, and blackening the once white walls with black ash. The fire hit the shadows and bit through the darkness, and instantly burning it to nothing. Even after it burned the shadows, it kept going, blasting a hole through the walls of the guild, until it escaped out into the exposed night outside.

Sweat dripped off my forehead, and I panted from the exertion of too much magic loss at once. Nashi seemed even more exhausted, and she fell to her knees, her hand slipping out of mine. She looked around, noticing how much darker it was now in the room, but when she saw me watching her, she smiled sweetly. "We did it, Papa!"

Warmth spread through my chest, and I grinned back at her. "Aye," I replied, swelling with pride that I had an amazing daughter.

But all sweet moments came to an end, and I couldn't stop the shadow that reached from behind Nashi, grabbed her by her neck and held her high in the air. Lucy appeared out of the shadow, shaking her head. Those beautiful eyes that I constantly marveled at were now black as pitch. With a flick of her wrist, she threw Nashi across the room. The walls were already unstable, and when Nashi whacked against it, her body created a hole, and it crumbled on top of her. I screamed her name, but it was too late. Only her ragged breathing informed me she was still alive.

"You should have listened to me, Natsu," Lucy seethed. "Fire only makes a bigger shadow."

"What do you want?" I shouted, angered by Morgania for making Lucy do things like this. This wasn't how Lucy acted. She was soft and gentle. She would never hurt her nakama!

"Want?" Lucy asked, a thin eyebrow arching. She cocked a hip and smirked. "I want vengeance, Salamander. You made me suffer, now I'm going to make you feel my pain."

My hands reached out, and my fingers bit into her shoulders as I shook her. "Lucy! Wake up! This isn't you!" Lucy swatted at my hands, but I grabbed her wrists and pinned them to her sides. I knew she was in there somewhere. I heard it earlier before she attacked me. I was always there to save her, but I never realized how much I needed her to save me. "Luce! Please!"

"I'm right here, Dragneel," she growled, obviously annoyed.

"No!" I shouted. "You're not Lucy. I need her back!"

"What for?" Lucy asked, not masking the evident pain in her voice. "You never liked me, even though I loved you."

I froze, my heart clenching in my chest as I replayed her words over and over in my head. Loved? Lucy loved me? I was stunned, and I didn't even fight her when she pulled herself out of my grip. She staggered back a few feet, staring at me curiously.

"You said it yourself a few moments ago," she reminded me. "You admitted you never liked me."

My fists balled at my sides, and my head fell once more. Of course not… I never liked her. My feelings for Lucy were never like that… "You're right," I admitted. "I've never felt anything close to that for you." My eyes pinched together as memories of her holding me, laughing with me, and us always being together flowed through my mind.

"After all those times," she grumbled, "you never once thought about me. We were always side by side, but not once did you look at me the same way I looked at you. You've no idea the pain and confusion I had buried in my heart for so long because I knew you never would. You only care about yourself." The room dimmed, and I could sense her magic rising. "Now I'm going to show you what it means to be alone and care about someone who you can never have."

My head shot up, and I gasped in horror as I realized she held a shadow sword to her throat, ready to kill Lucy. I knew this was Morgania controlling Lucy. I knew she would never be this selfish to commit suicide just to cause pain to someone else, but it wouldn't stop the fact that even if Morgania was still controlling Lucy, if she killed her, not only would I lose Lucy, but Nashi would be gone forever. Lucy was still there somewhere, and I had to get to her. I had to make her fight this possession, and there was only one way I knew how to do it.

"Fight me," I stated, raising my chin higher to meet those black eyes.

"What?" Lucy barked. "You want me to fight you?"

"You want to take away everything from me right?" I asked simply. "Then take away my pride by defeating me in a battle. I don't like you remember, so if you killed yourself, I wouldn't be as crushed as much as you defeating me."

Irritation was plain on her face. "Why you…"

I crossed my arms and smiled. "Of course, the unstoppable Morgania wouldn't be able to beat me. She's probably too terrified of losing. What a pansy."

Lucy swung the sword down and away from her neck. I tried to mask my relief, but she raised the sword at me. Without warning, she started to attack. I dodged her first blow, but when I twisted to get out of the way, I was reminded of the cut on my side. I cursed, and told myself to ignore it. Hopefully this fight would be over with soon.

Lucy lunged forward, and I ignited my arm on fire and punched the blade, making it disappear. Lucy cackled and it reformed bigger. I leaped back as she used an uppercut and was caught off balance as the shadow beneath my foot quivered and slipped away. Lucy used it to her advantage and tried slicing through my torso, but I used my dragon breath to blow away her shadows. She was caught in the fiery torrent, and I hoped she wasn't burned. However, when the flames disappeared, I realized she used the shadows as a shield and was covered in the darkness. She laughed, and instead of swinging a sword, she attacked with her entire body. She punched, and I blocked it quickly, only to be knocked aside by a blow to the stomach. I didn't have much chance to recover, and she started honing in on every weak spot she knew. Though we had sparred before, this Lucy wasn't afraid of hurting me like the other one was. This Lucy was after blood, and now I was starting to regret training her. Every block I made had to meet her blow with fire or else the shadow would slice through my skin.

Whatever Morgania did, she must have used Lucy's memories against her. Gramps said that Morgania was a master of using someone's feelings against them, and this must have been what he meant. She is manipulating Lucy's hidden emotions and desires and directing them into making Lucy feel no regret or love but pure hatred instead.

Lucy's foot swung upwards, and I was unable to block it. The kick landed against my ribs, and I groaned in agony as I staggered backwards, clutching both injured sides. Despite the pain, I forced myself to laugh. "Is that all you got?" I mocked. "Geez, I didn't realize how worthless you really were, Luce."

"How dare you?" she yelled. Shadows streaked angrily around her like black flames. In a normal battle, this would be exciting… Ah, hell. It was still pretty cool. "I'll show you who is worthless!"

I laughed again. "Bring it on!" Fire erupted around me, and I grinned maliciously. "I've been saving a special move for you Luce, just to show you how much I don't like you!"

She screamed, and the shadows shot forward in an angry violent wave. I used my fire dragon iron fist to fight through it, but she appeared by my side. I dodged her, and used my wing attack, killing the shadows, and keeping her at a distance. "You have to do better than that!" I called.

She disappeared suddenly, and I looked around the room, searching for her. I knew she was blending in with the shadows, so I had to call her out. "Do you remember how we first met at the port and I had to save your useless ass from those pirates? That's the moment I first decided that I never liked you."

Her hands shot out from beneath me, and I jumped out her reach, and used my fire breath to scorch the ground. She slithered back and disappeared again. "I remember telling Happy actually how much I didn't like you. He teased me about it all the time, and told me to behave myself for the better of the team we created."

A blast of darkness shot out of one wall, but it was easy to knock it aside using a fire punch. "Eventually, Gray and Erza even caught on to it. They both confronted me, and told me that I should tell you. Needless to say, I couldn't force myself to do it. I couldn't tell you that I didn't like you at all. It would completely destroy our perfect team."

Lucy screeched like a banshee, and I almost fell over in a fit of laughter from the sound. He didn't make a move however, so I continued. "I tried so hard to change my feelings. I figured maybe if I spent time at your house, you would just figure it out yourself, but you never did. It hurt to think that I didn't like my own nakama, and she didn't know.

"Then a girl showed up at your house, claiming to be our daughter, and I figured it would be a good time to finally tell you that I didn't like you," I said. I scratched the back of my neck and blushed. "Except every time I tried to tell you, something would happen, and I would think better of it." I sighed. "Well, I guess now is as good a time as ever to finally just fess up and say it."

Lucy appeared before me, her body surrounded by the shadows that snaked around her ankles like chains binding her to the darkness. She glowered at me, hatred burning in her eyes. "How dare you mock me, Salamander! I will destroy you for what you have done to me!"

Laughter rolled out of me, and I smirked. "Glad you finally showed up, because I've been dying to use this new move on you!"

Her eyes narrowed. "You will perish today," she snarled and lunged forward, shadows pushing her forward fasted than she could normally move.

"I'm not afraid of you," I barked back and readied myself. As she approached, I swelled up my magic to its limit, and started my spell. "Secret Dragon Slayer Art—" She screamed loudly, her hands outstretched like claws as she yearned to shred through anything she touched. "Fire Dragon—" She was inches from me, and my body moved on its own. My hands grabbed her wrists, and using our momentum, I swung her to the floor, with my body tumbling after hers. She collided with the marble, her head bouncing from the hard impact, but I didn't give a moment's hesitation. I was done waiting for the right moment, and failing because of my own fear. This time, I didn't let her escape. My lips crashed down hard against hers, forcing them apart. My magic swelled hotly inside of me, and I released it into her. Her body writhed beneath me, but I could feel the magic working. The shadows began to disappear, and the longer I held her, the more she began to melt into me until her tongue was dancing along with mine. When I felt every ounce of her magic disappear, I pulled back slowly, and whispered, "Fire Kiss."

"Natsu…" Lucy whimpered, her luscious brown eyes smiling warmly at me. "How did you—why did you—"

"How could I ever like you when I've loved you from the very first moment I met you?" I explained, smiling at her. "I could make the shadows around you disappear, but not the ones inside of you…" Of course, I didn't breathe fire into her. I just released the magic of feelings, and it was enough to break the possession that Morgania held. "I'm sorry I never told you before. I should have said it from the very moment I realized it. I was always wandering the paths of this world searching, but I didn't know how lost I truly was. I thought I was searching for Igneel, not for what he represented. I needed love, and for someone to never leave me. When we first met, I thought you were the most beautiful girl I had ever met. Weird, but beautiful and strong. My life didn't begin until I met you. I loved you from the beginning, and I'll love you to the end. Even if I only kiss you once, that single moment was worth a thousand lifetimes."

Her hands caressed my cheeks, and hot tears streamed down her face. "What about two then?"

Her lip quivered, and I feared she was about to sob, but then she pulled me to her, and we melted into another kiss. I moaned against her, finally feeling those soft lips working against mine that I had desired for so long. My hands tangled in her hair as I held her closer to me, wanting all of her to be mine, and knowing that now I could finally have her.

She pulled back suddenly. "Natsu!" she hissed. "Where's Nashi?"

Shame washed over me in a cold wave. Lucy probably didn't remember what happened, and I was so busy enjoying myself with Lucy that I had forgotten about my daughter. I looked over towards the wall where she had smashed through. Her small body was still lying there, and her breathing was faint. We jumped up and ran towards her. Lucy gasped, and I could smell more tears falling from her eyes. I didn't feel like explaining right then, so I told her simply, "She was injured in a fight."

"She needs medical attention immediately!" Lucy cried, stroking her pink locks out of her blackened and ashen face.

"Happy is guarding the entrance," I told her. "Dragon slayers heal quickly, and if she's anything like me, she's strong. I'll make Happy fly her back to the guild."

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**Sooooo...What did you think? It's okay. I'm not scared. Tell me what you thought about it! **

**PLEASE REVIEW!**

**Thank you so much guys for reading! It's been a fun first fanfiction to write, and I've loved every moment of it :)**


	20. Chapter 20

**Sorry if I'm slow on updating guys! I've been crazy busy! Hopefully, I'll be wrapping it up soon, and I should have enough time to write some at least every night after school :) Tomorrow is going to be great because I have a job as a Disney Princess (shh...can't tell you which one ;) ) and my little cousin is ecstatic about me coming to visit her in my costume at the parade. **

**Any ways, I don't know if you guys have read the most recent chapter, and I won't spoil anything if you haven't, but it's so AWESOME! AHHHHH! I'm still freaking out about it hahaha READ IT!**

**Short chapter! Review and Enjoy! **

**I don't own Fairy Tail, but if I did, Nalu would be everywhere bwhahaha**

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**Nashi's POV**

_W-where am I? _I wonder, rubbing a sore spot on my head. A large bump had formed on my skull, and it was sensitive to my touch. I couldn't remember how I had gotten it, or how I'd even gotten here. Cold anxiety raced through me, but a warm sensation answered my fears, covering me with a numbing calm.

_Nashi… _A low grumbling voice answers. It sounds so soothing, and familiar…

_Yes? _I answered, looking around.

A heavy darkness surrounded me, as I lied on the cool ground at the base of a winding stair that seemed to lead to nowhere. Reluctantly, I stretched my aching muscles and stood slowly. Fear prickled at the back of my mind, but I pushed it down, focusing on the warmth wrapping around my body. Though there was nothing there. Some instinct told me to run, but I fought against it and started up the foreboding stair. My hand settled on the silver hand rail, and a chill raced up my spine.

_Hello? _ I called out, searching for the voice. I stepped onto the first stair warily and looked around. Nothing was coming after me, so why was I so nervous?

Swallowing down my paranoia, I started my slow ascension, groaning each step as I worked against my screaming body. Why did I hurt so badly again? Had I been hurt recently? More and more questions spiraled through my head as I grew higher, reaching further into the unknown. Growing higher and higher into the air, and constantly being chased by the darkness behind me. I didn't know where I was going, but I couldn't look back. I had to keep moving forward to…where?

The staircase didn't seem to have an end, and frustration built hot inside me. I exhaled a small flame and grunted unhappily but never stopped. I knew I could huff and puff all I wanted, but it wouldn't get me anywhere. One look behind me told me that there was nothing left at the bottom anymore, and some instinct told me to keep moving because all my answers were at the top.

Something creaked loudly from the ever growing darkness behind me, and I froze. My sharp hearing strained for more sound, but no other sound was made. My heart hammered hard in my chest, and I gulped down the building fear and continued at a brisker pace. The hair on the back of my neck prickled uncertainly as the paranoia returned. After a few moments of silence, a scratching sound reverberated up the stairs, and I gasped. This time I didn't stop to try to figure out the origin of the sound. I pushed my legs faster, ignoring the burning pain spreading through my body.

Nails clicked against the stairs behind me, and they were gaining fast. Realizing I wouldn't be able to outrun it much longer, my fist swelled with flames, and I jolted around, readying for a fight. However, what looked back at me, made me cock my head in confusion, though it did nothing to extinguish the fear. Sharp brown eyes shined against the fire in my palm, and a low, threatening growl rumbled deep from his mighty chest. His pointed ears pressed flat against his extensive mane, and he flashed me incredibly sharp teeth set inside his unforgivingly powerful maw. A lion? What was a lion doing following me?

His eyes followed the flickering fire, and coiled tight into a pouncing position. When I extinguished the flames, his body unspun and relaxed. He sat back on his haunches, and met my gaze. Somewhere in those deep brown orbs that held too much intelligence for a simple animal, I became lost, and my heart cried out for a long lost friend. The lion slowly approached, but I ceased breathing. He rubbed his big head against my leg and forcing my hand to comb through his mane. He purred happily as I stroked the long hair, and a smile graced my lips.

_Leo the lion… _I said to him, and he blinked and nodded. _Loke_.

Images flitted through my mind of a tall man with square spectacles, a black suit, and a bright smile that lit up my heart with a soft warmth. Light glowed bright around his hands as he protected me, and he was a fierce warrior. But, at night, he would take me to the darkest sky and show me the vastness of the stars. Realization hit me, and I gasped.

_I remember you, _I told him, and he roared what I assumed was happily. _You were one of my mother's spirits. _

Pain shot through my heart, and I gripped my chest. I fell to my knees, and voices began spiraling around me.

_I'll keep practicing the magic, Papa!_

_ Mama, I love you the stars and beyond!_

_Papa! Mama! Don't leave me!_

_ Jay, I can't go through this again. I can't lose them again._

_ Why can't I use this magic? Is it because I'm too weak?_

_ Why won't these stupid keys work?_

_ What is wrong with me?_

_ Leave me alone!_ I shouted, covering my ears, but the voices wouldn't leave. They only grew more intense, and that's when I realized…they were my own thoughts. My mind was spiraling out of control, and I lost my grip on the silver banister and began falling backwards. The lion beside me disappeared, and the stair case exploded into ashes. I didn't even scream as I fell into the oblivion, surrounded by nothing but my most painful memories, my fears, and my worries.

Slowly, my eyes closed, and I gave in to the darkness. I let myself go and released every emotion I ever felt until my body was numb. I was void of everything, and continued falling deeper and deeper into naught. Everything was gone; my life, my love, my magic…gone.

_Nashi_… The deep familiar voice called me again. Warmth spread through my body, and my eyes fluttered open. I stood in a new space, but instead of black, I was surrounded by an ever blinding light. And this time, I wasn't alone.

A burly man with a long, whisking mustache stood before me in an ancient samurai armor. His eyes were hidden behind his heavy helm, but I could feel his powerful gaze analyzing me. A sword sat on his hip, and his arms crossed over his chest. He continued to glare in silence, but I never faltered. Everything about him was so familiar, yet I couldn't exactly remember how. Instinct took over, and I dipped into a low, formal bow in a show of respect.

_It is good to see you again, though I doubt you could recall those memories. _He took my silence as a confirmative and continued. _It has been many years since we have spoken face to face like this for I never allow anyone to roam the realm of the spirits freely as you do. _

_ I have never been here._ I informed him, looking around the empty space, trying to summon any memory, but there was nothing.

_ You are always here, and yet you are never here. _His cryptic explanation only frustrated me, and I folded my arms and huffed. He laughed at my defiant posture before he continued to explain, _When you have your visions, do you ever wonder where they come from? You pass through here, searching through spirits for answers that even you do not understand at the time. _

The spirit realm? That's where I received my visions? _I do not understand… _A memory flittered into my mind, and I saw an image of a blonde holding keys and explaining how she used her magic.

_That is Lucy Heartfilia, your mother. She is a powerful celestial mage, much like her mother before her. _He told me, and I did remember that I had to have a mother to be here. Yet, it was difficult to recall anything about my life, and only bits and pieces would pop into my head whenever it seemed convenient. The samurai man sighed heavily. _We do not have much time here in the spirit realm, so I will try to explain everything quickly to you, Nashi. _

_ You were born to a celestial mage and a fire dragon slayer. Both are powerful magics that are difficult to control separately, and it is impossible to use them as a dual magic like the new generation of Fairy Tail mages. As a result, you chose long ago to only accept one type of magic: fire dragon slaying. However, you continued to attempt to command them both. Though you could never succeed, your power over the spirts was still strong, and you were able to break the barrier of the spirit realm and allow your own spirit to walk among us. It is dangerous for a human to be here, and if you are not careful, your spirit could be trapped inside the spirit realm forever. _

_ But, I cannot control when I come or go, _I argued, anxiety starting to overwhelm me. _If I were to be trapped in here, what would happen to my body?_

The man shook his head. _It would disappear, and you would walk alone for eternity in this realm. _

I trembled from the honesty in his words. I wish he were lying, but such a serious man would not have the time or care to toy with a little girl. _Why am I here now then? _

_ I have brought you here for a very important reason… _

_ What is it? _

_ You must kill Morgania, for she is attempting to break apart the realms of the spirits and control those who wander here. _

_ What? _I shouted in shock.

He looked hard into my eyes. _You are here now because I called you into this realm to explain this to you…and to burden you with a task no one should ever have to carry out. _

Trepidation washed in cold waves around me, and I crossed my arms as I thought for a moment. The guild was in trouble…no the world was. In the future, Morgania's power was unfathomable. She was a terrifying sorceress, with limitless magic. No one had known where her incredible power came from, and if her plot to control the spirit realm could be foiled, than Morgania's magic could be stopped, and she could be ruined before she destroys the future!

My fists clenched at my sides, and I gazed fiercely at the man with a new determination. _What do I have to do, spirit king? _The words shook as they came out, and memories of my father shouting about a giant "mustache man" flowed inside my head. My heart clenched as I realized who I really stood before.

He seemed pleased that I was able to remember, and held out a closed hand. I reached towards him, palm out, and he dropped a single diamond key into my hand. It glittered against the white like a thousand dancing rainbows, and I shot him a quizzical look. His only answer: _Let them in. _

* * *

My spirit whooshed back into my body, and I jolted up in bed, gasping wildly as if I had never breathed in my entire life. My head felt a little fuzzy, and I gripped my forehead to slow down the churning world around me, when I felt the heavy object in my hand. I gaped in horror and wonder.

Two blue paws wrapped around my neck, and Happy blurted how excited he was to see me. Carla and Wendy sat erect in there chair, asking about my injuries. Jay stood at the end of my bed, analyzing me in his quiet, serious way. Scarlet and the twins stood beside him. Seeing as she was holding their ears, and they were crying in fear, she must have just broken them away from a fight. Everyone kept looking at me, asking questions, and searching my face for answers, but I couldn't look away from the key in my hand.

Jay's voice was the one who broke me out of my trance. "What's in your hand?" he asked, silencing everyone around him as they focused on the shiny object.

My fist clenched tightly around it, and I threw the covers off, much to Wendy's dismay. She asked me to return to bed so that she could continue healing me, but I shook my head. I held my fist into the air, and shouted, "I have to speak to Master Makarov! I know how we can defeat Morgania!"

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**I'm writing the beginning of my new fanfiction tonight, so if you see anything called "Bounty Hunter" within the next few days, you should read it ;) just saying!**


	21. Announcement

**THIS ISN'T A CHAPTER!**

**Hey, guys! Sorry I've been so slack on updating. I promise to have something out soon! I've already started on it, but there's not telling when I'll release it. **

**The story will be ending soon though :(However, I probably will make a sequel! Anyone up for that?**

**But, I just wanted to thank everyone so much for reading it! I've enjoyed reading your reviews and talking to you amazing people! **

**Keep reading and enjoying! **

**! NALU FOREVER!**


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